Rights of Parents Who Are Not Married

• In New Jersey, parents who are not married to each other must fulfill legal requirements to identify the child's legal father. Unmarried parents can establish their child's paternity by marrying each other, after the child's birth, as long as they also submit paternity information to their local Registrar of Vital Statistics or name him on the child's birth certificate. Both parents can also sign a Certificate of Parentage according to the procedures required under New Jersey law. An unmarried father who pays child support and acknowledges the child as his own may also have established legal fatherhood of the child. Additionally, an unmarried father can establish a legal relationship to the child through a New Jersey court order for child support or paternity. An unmarried father who establishes a legal relationship to his child may file an action for custodial rights or visitation rights in New Jersey family court.
  
  

New Jersey Laws on Child Custody

• When both parents have a legal relationship to the child, both have a right to file a custody action in New Jersey family court to obtain a court order that clarifies custody and visitation between them. The court may refer the parents to mediation or conduct a court investigation to determine the appropriate custody and visitation arrangement. New Jersey law allows the court to order joint physical custody, which means that both parents have their child living in their homes on a regular basis. When only one parent has sole physical custody, however, the other parent spends time with the child through visits on a court-approved schedule.
  
  

Types of Visitation for Non-custodial Parents

• Most non-custodial parents receive court orders that include regular schedules for visitation, also known as "parenting time," from the New Jersey county courts. In some situations, however, New Jersey law permits the court to make a different order based on the child's best interests. For example, the court can require supervised visitation if the custodial parent shows the court that the non-custodial parent may harm the child. In some cases, the court may even take all visitation rights away from the non-custodial parent due to safety concerns or other serious circumstances until the non-custodial parent can show changed circumstances sufficient to restore visitation privileges.
  
  

Right to Request Visitation Changes

• A non-custodial parent has the right to request changes to a previously-established visitation schedule. New Jersey law allows for a modification in custody or visitation when either parent, whether custodial or non-custodial, experiences a change in circumstances, such as relocation, new job, safety concerns or lack of compliance with a court order. A New Jersey court may also grant a modification based on a change in circumstances related to the child's life. To apply for a change in visitation, the non-custodial parent must go to the courthouse in the New Jersey county where the court issued the current custody order. The modification request includes specific paperwork, which the parent can obtain from the county court, and a copy of the existing order.