MIAMI, Fla. – Unmarried fathers who were legally not a natural guardian to their children now have equal rights to parenting thanks to a new state law.

Florida Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis recently signed HB 775 which was designed to give men equal custody rights and responsibilities if they voluntarily acknowledge they are parents of their children.

Miami Gardens state Rep. Christopher Benjamin, a Democrat, sponsored the “Good Dad” bipartisan legislation during the 2023 Legislative Session in which unwed men are no longer required to go to court to establish paternity and gain custody rights along with support obligations.

A court could then bestow on both equal say in their child’s education, health care, religion and time sharing and safety.

"HB 775 was created from the stories of many fathers hindered in parenthood and wanting nothing more than to parent their child equally with the mother,” Benjamin said.

“UNWED PARENTS WILL NEED TO CO-PARENT AND WORK TOGETHER JUST LIKE MARRIED PARENTS. COURT IS ONLY NECESSARY TO RESOLVE DISAGREEMENTS."

"With the assistance of the Family Law Section of the Florida Bar, I was able to craft this legislation to do just that."

Benjamin, a lawyer by trade, said the new law places unwed mothers and fathers on the same playing field.

He said prior to the new law, an unwed mother was the natural guardian of a child and had unfettered rights.

If a child is born to unmarried parents, the rights of natural guardianship defaults to the mother, who becomes responsible for all issues involving the child unless a court decides otherwise.

Under the new law, which takes effect on July 1, Benjamin said the biological father who voluntarily acknowledges paternity and has done all the paperwork necessary to appear on the child’s birth certificate will now have the same rights to parent his child as the unwed mother.

"They both become the natural guardians of the child," Benjamin said.

"He will not have to go to court to have shared access and time with the child. He has the same right to parent and obligation to care for the child they share.

“Unwed parents will need to co-parent and work together just like married parents. Court is only necessary to resolve disagreements."

Republican Sen. Clay Yarborough of Jacksonville, who sponsored the Senate bill version, called it a “a good, fatherfriendly bill that is good for Florida’s families.”

Ocala Republican Sen. Dennis Baxley, who described it as a needed step to address the “difficulty it sometimes takes to bring” unwed parents together for the benefit of their offspring.

“The brokenness of families and loss of fatherhood in many of these situations and the overburden on mothers who have to do all the parenting,” he said. "It leads to shortcomings."