• Fathers are legally obligated to meet the needs of their children.father and son. image by Harvey Hudson from Fotolia.com
  
  Being a father comes with rights and responsibilities. The rights and responsibilities of parents toward their children are designed to prevent the neglect and abuse of children. The federal government outlines the general standard for state regulation regarding parental rights. Individual states regulate and enforce parental rights laws according to their own legislation. Fathers who fail to comply with the law face legal penalties, such as fines and loss of their rights. It is important to note that sperm donors, whether anonymous or non-anonymous, do not have the any of the rights or responsibilities of an acknowledged father.
  
  

What is Parental Responsibility?

• A father with custody over his children has a legal parental responsibility towards his children. Parental responsibility is regulated and enforce by state authorities and may differ in its details from state to state. States typically mandate that a father must protect his children from neglect; support them financially; provide them with access to education; allow them access to shelter, clothing and food; and find them adequate medical care when they need it.
  
  

Rights

• Federally, a father's rights are protected by the 1st, 5th, 9th and 14th Amendments. Most states also set out a number of similar provisions, that grant the father the right to be actively involved in the life of his children and to spend time with them; determine what is best for them; decide how he will discipline them; choose where they should live; and choose his own style of parenting. Additionally, the father may select which religion his children follow; see their medical and school records; and retain custody, control and care of them. Furthermore, a father has the right to retain a personal relationship and regular contact with children that are not living with him, make decisions about the children's property on their behalf and choose the names of his children. Divorce courts have the power limit the rights of a father, including the right to access to his children and to choose where they live.
  
  A father who does not fulfill his parental obligations may be subject to criminal penalties. He may lose his professional licenses and incur other penalties from state and federal governments.
  
  

Adoption

• In some cases, a baby's mother may want to put the child up for adoption. Before the adoption is set to take place, the father will be asked for consent to the adoption, but only if he can be found. The father of the baby may order an objection to his baby's adoption if his name is on the baby's birth certificate. The father has the right to be at the adoption hearing regardless of whether he is married to the mother. However, the court retains the power to override a father's refusal to consent and continue with the adoption.