Typically, a discussion surrounding paternity rights involves the rights of a married (and subsequently divorcing) father. Unmarried fathers, however, also struggle with paternity battles and the rights they have to their biological child (also known as fathers’ rights).

Historically speaking, unmarried fathers have fewer rights with respect to their child as compared to married men or the unwed mother. The Supreme Court of the United States addressed the constitutional rights of a father in a series of cases during the 1970s. The court found “the existence of a biological link between a child and unmarried father gives the father the opportunity to establish a substantial relationship” with the child. This includes being involved in raising the child.

While the court established these basic principles, the states are responsible for defining and governing paternity within their boundaries. The Illinois Parentage Act of 1984 establishes the basic principles governing the legal relationships between parent and children in the state. The law defines a parent-child relationship as the “legal relationship existing between a child and his natural or adoptive parents … to which the law confers or imposes rights, privileges, duties, and obligations. It includes the mother and child relationship and the father and child relationship.”

As the number of divorced and blended families increases, studying the effects of such arrangements on children has been a growing area of interest. The most recent study by the Journal and Epidemiology and Community Health found that children fare better when they spend timing living with both of their divorced parents. The study looked at 150,000 12 and 15-year-old students across the country. Sixty-nine percent of these children lived in a non-divorced family household, 19 percent lived with both parents separately, and 13 percent only lived with one. The study analyzed a variety of psychosomatic health problems, including sleep patterns, concentration difficulties, headaches, stomach aches, loss of appetite, dizziness, and feeling sad or tense.

The study found that children who lived in nuclear (meaning non-divorced families) had the least problems. However, and arguably most surprisingly, children who lived with both parents in a joint custody arrangement had significantly fewer problems than those who only lived with one. Girls, however, suffered more psychosomatic problems than boys – particularly feelings of sadness – and sleep problems were the most common for both genders.

Results in Opposition to Traditional Beliefs

When a couple with children divorces, child custody and child support are often two of the most important issues that the couple has to work out. The court tries its best to work with parents to create a custody arrangement that meets every family member's needs. Under the Illinois Marriage and Dissolution of Marriage Act, the court may make the final decision regarding a child's custody arrangement following his or her parents' divorce. There are various guidelines that the court follows when making this decision. These outlines are also part of the Act.

It is important that a child have contact with both of his or her parents following their divorce. In fact, unless there is a compelling reason to award one parent sole custody of the children, the court usually makes sure that both parents have regular custody time with their children. A child's parents are his or her biggest influences. Studies have shown that children who have consistent, positive relationships with both of their parents have higher self esteem, better communication skills, and a lower chance of becoming addicted to alcohol and other drugs.

Factors to Consider When Developing a Custody Arrangement

In 2012 Illinois updated its divorce statutes to accommodate service men and women who were deployed overseas but were involved in a child custody battle. The Illinois Marriage and Dissolution of Marriage Act is the statutory body of law in the state that governs divorce and related issues such as child custody. The Act made several key changes to account for parents who are active duty military. The following key provisions were enacted into law:

1. Any order modifying custody (either in part or in its entirety) due to the one parent’s deployment as a member of the United States Armed Forces must now also provide that after a set amount of time following the end of the deployment, the pre-deployment custody order is to be reinstated;
2. Custody hearings are allowed involving a parent who is being deployed or received orders to deploy to be given expedited priority;
3. Service members may testify or participate in the hearing via telephone or other electronic means such as Skype if they are in fact deployed;
4. The deployed parent may designate an individual (with the court’s permission) to exercise the visitation rights the deployed parent has under the existing custody order; and
5. The fact a parent is absent, relocated, or fails to comply to due deployment may not act as the sole grounds for justifying a modification of an existing custody order.

The purpose of these changes was to make the process of custody arrangements more fair and cognizant of the challenges faced by parents who serve in the armed forces. It helps protect a military parent’s custodial rights while deployed and upon return from deployment.

Consideration of the Best Interest of the Child

One of the most important pieces of any divorce proceeding is the child custody portion. During the child custody phase, the court determines how the parents will raise any children who resulted from the marriage. This can mean developing a custody arrangement where both parents share control of the children, or giving custody to one parent over the other. The high stakes of child custody decisions means that parents entering a divorce often look to divorce lawyers to make predictions about the outcome of child custody decisions. Unfortunately, Illinois law makes it difficult to predict how judges will rule when making custody decisions.

Types of Custody

There are two different ways to classify custody, and each is important for the purposes of divorcing parents. The first distinction is legal custody versus physical custody. Legal custody is the ability to make decisions on behalf of the child. As a parent that will affect how the child is raised, such as what school the child attends. Physical custody is a much more direct form of custody. Physical custody determines which parent has actual physical control over the child during their upbringing.