WomensLaw is not just for women. We serve and support all survivors, no matter their sex or gender.

Legal Information: Florida

Custody

View all
Updated: 
December 21, 2018

If a child is living with the putative father, can he get temporary custody (parental responsibility) of the child?

Yes. A putative father (a man who believes he is the father but cannot prove it because the mother is absent) who is caring for a child whom he believes is his, may file a petition to determine paternity and he can ask the judge to issue an order that establishes a temporary legal custody relationship between him and the child during the proceeding. The court will likely order a DNA test1 and then enter an order creating a legal relationship between the father and the child, award child support, if applicable, and time-sharing for the mother, if applicable.

1 F.S.A. § 742.12

Legal Information

© 2008–2019 WomensLaw.org is a project of the National Network to End Domestic Violence, Inc. All rights reserved. This website is funded in part through a grant from the Office for Victims of Crime, Office of Justice Programs, U.S. Department of Justice. Neither the U.S. Department of Justice nor any of its components operate, control, are responsible for, or necessarily endorse, this website (including, without limitation, its content, technical infrastructure, and policies, and any services or tools provided). NNEDV is a 501©(3) non-profit organization; EIN 52-1973408.