Parents' Rights in Oregon

• Biological parent: A biological parent is a person who has contributed their sperm or egg to make a child.        
• Legal parent: A legal parent is a person who the government recognizes as a legal parent. You don’t have to go through a court case to be a legal parent! Many parents are automatically the legal parents to their children:  
  • Married parents: You’re automatically a legal parent to any children born to your or your spouse during your marriage or within 300 days after you get divorced, even if the child isn’t biologically yours.   
  • Unmarried mothers: You’re automatically a legal parent to any child you give birth to (unless you’re a surrogate).  
  • Unmarried fathers: You’re a legal parent if your name is on your child’s birth certificate, you sign an official form saying you are the father, or if you have a court or agency order that says you’re the legal father. 
• Court order: A written document, signed by a judge, that is part of a court case. A court order creates rules and responsibilities for the people involved in a court case. There are many kinds of court orders.  
• Legal custody: A decision from a court about who gets to make important decisions for a child, including healthcare, education, and religion. Legal custody is not about how much time a parent spends with a child or where the child lives—that is what parenting time is about. (See the definition below, for information on parenting time.)
• Joint custody: A custody arrangement where parents share custody. Parents must agree to share custody. A judge cannot force parents to share custody if at least one parent doesn't want this. 
• Sole custody: A custody arrangement where only one parent has custody. Parents can agree on which parent has custody. Or, if they don't agree, a judge will decide for them.   
• Custodial parent: A custodial parent is a parent who has a court order that gives them legal custody of a child, including a parent with sole custody or a parent with joint custody. 
• Non-custodial parent: If a parent is awarded sole custody, the other parent is the non-custodial parent.   
• Parenting time: A type of court order that says when each parent gets to see their child. Parenting time is sometimes called “visitation.”  Parenting plan: A document that includes the parenting time schedule for the kids as well as other rules for how parents should co-parent. Parenting plans can be very detailed, or they can be very simple. No two parenting plans are the same. 

This depends on your legal relationship with your child. You have different rights if you’re a legal parent, custodial parent, or non-custodial parent. Read the definitions section to make sure you understand these words before reading further.  

Legal parents have basic rights like:   

1. The right to see their child;
2. The right to raise their child how they think is best;
3. The right to make medical, educational, and other important decisions;
4. The right to choose where their child lives;
5. The right to get government identification for their child; and
6. The right to make financial decisions for their child.

Both legal parents have these same rights. 

As the custodial parent, you have:  

1. Primary responsibility for your child; 
2. The right to make medical and education decisions for your child;  
3. The right to get help from the court if the non-custodial parent takes your child;   
4. The right to ask the court for help with big parenting disagreements; and  
5. The right to claim your child on your taxes (usually).*  

* For tax purposes, the parent who can claim the child is the parent the children live with more than 50% of the year. This is usually the custodial parent, but not always.

The custodial parent does not get to choose when the other parent sees the child! If a judge makes a decision on legal custody, the judge will also decide the parenting plan for the child. Both parents must follow this plan.  

Unless your court paperwork says otherwise, you have the right to:   

1. Have regular parenting time with your child according to the schedule in your court order;  
2. Make day-to-day parenting decisions when your child is with you;   
3. Make emergency medical decisions for your child when they’re with you;  
4. Get information from your child’s school about how your child is doing in school;  
5. See your child’s government and law enforcement records;   
6. Get medical information from your child’s medical providers; and  
7. Ask the court for help if the other parent isn’t following the parenting time schedule or your parenting plan.

Agreements made outside of a court case are not legal documents. Neither parent has to follow the agreement. Either parent can change their mind at any time. You have the same rights as legal parents in this situation. 

To make your agreement legal, you must start a court case:  

• If you’re not married to the other parent: You will need to start a custody case and go through the custody case process. If you’re ready to start a custody case, go to this page for more information on custody.  
• If you are married to the other parent: you will need to start a divorce case and go through the divorce case process. If you’re ready to start a divorce case, go this page for more information on divorce.    

Warning: Notarizing a parenting agreement does not make it a legal agreement. You must go through the court to make your agreement legal. 

If you are the biological father of a child, but not the legal father, you have no parental rights. But you can become a legal parent and get parental rights through a process known as establishing paternity or parentage. For more information on how to become a legal parent, go here.     

Any legal parent can ask for child support from the other parent. Child support is a monthly cash payment that one parent pays to another parent. Usually, the parent who has the children most of the time gets child support from the other parent.  

If you want to see how much child support you can get, you can use Oregon's online child support calculator.   

For more information on child support, go here.

It depends.

• If you don’t have a custody order: Either parent can choose to keep their child away from the other parent. But parents should be cautious about doing this. If a parent goes to court for custody later, a judge will pay attention to a parent’s reasons for not letting the other parent see the child.
• If you have a custody order: Both parents must follow the parenting plan that comes with the custody order. If a parent doesn’t follow the parenting schedule, the other parent can ask the court for help. Go here for more information on what to do when a parent doesn’t follow court orders. 
• If you are in the middle of a custody case: It depends on whether the court made any temporary orders in your case. A temporary order is a legal document you have to follow during a court case. It goes away when you finish your case and get a final decision from the court. If you’re not sure whether there is a temporary order, call your local circuit court and ask.  

It depends.  

• If you are a legal parent, but don't have a custody order: You can legally take your child from the other parent. But if you do this: 
  1. Think about what’s best for your child; 
  2. Don’t do anything that will hurt your child physically, mentally, or emotionally; and 
  3. Don’t use violence or break any laws.  
• If you have a custody order: You can ask for help from the courts and police. Go here for more information on what to do when a parent doesn’t follow court orders. 
• If you are in the middle of a custody case: It depends on whether a judge signed any temporary orders in your case. A temporary order is a legal document you have to follow during a court case. It goes away when you finish your case. If you don't have a temporary order, you can legally take your child (see the first item in this list). If you do have a temporary order, you can get help from the courts or police (see the second item in this list). If you’re not sure whether there is a temporary order, call your local circuit court and ask.    

No. You must continue paying child support as ordered. If you stop, you may face fines and contempt charges. Go here for more information on what to do when a parent doesn’t follow court orders.

It depends.

• If you don’t have a custody order: The police usually won’t help.
• If you are the custodial parent: The police may help you. If they don't, you can go to court and get a legal document called an "Order of Assistance" that tells the police they must help you. You can usually get this document within 1-2 days.
• If you have a court order and you’re the non-custodial parent: The police probably won’t help you. But you can ask the court for help by turning in "Parenting Time Enforcement" paperwork at the court.

For more information on what to do when the other parent isn't following your court order, go here. 

If the person who took your child does not have court papers saying they can have your child, you have options:   

1. Go get your child. You are allowed to go get your child if you can do this safely and without breaking any laws.   
2. Call the police. You can report child kidnapping to the police.
3. Call the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. This national organization will work with local police to help you get your child back. Their number is 1-800-THE-LOST (1-800-843-5678).
4. Talk to a lawyer. You can use the Referral Database to find a lawyer in your area.   

Warning! If the person who took your child has court papers saying your child should live with them, do not take your child back on your own. You must go through the courts. If you take your child back, you can get in trouble! 

Both married and unmarried parents have the right to ask the court to decide legal custody, create a parenting plan for their child, and make a decision on child support. 

But only married parents can ask for spousal support and only married parents can ask the court for help separating their property and debts when their relationship ends. For more information on divorce, go here.

Your legal rights depend on how you had your child and the legal steps you took afterward. It is a good idea to get legal help if you have any questions about your rights.  

If you know you aren't the legal parent of your child, you may be able to get temporary parenting rights if one of your child's legal parents agrees to sign a "Delegation of Parental Powers" form. For more information, go here. 

No. 

But you can get temporary parenting rights if one of the child's legal parents signs a "Delegation of Parental Powers" form. For more information, go here. 

If you can't find the child's parents and you're the child's relative, you can sign a form called a "Relative Caregiver Affidavit" so you make medical and educations decisions for the child. Go here for more information on caring for a relative's child. 

You may also be able to get long-term rights through a court case, such as a guardianship case, third-party custody case, or an adoption case. But you should talk to a lawyer before taking legal action. These types of cases are complicated and there are no free court forms available. 

Warning! If a legal parent asks for their child back, you must return the child unless: (1) You have a court order that says the child can live with you, or (2) There is a court order that says that parent can't see their child. If you return the child and you believe they are being abused or neglected, you can call 855-503-SAFE (7233) to report your concerns to Child Welfare, or call 911 in an emergency.