How will child custody be resolved without a marriage registration?

Article 15 of the 2014 Law on Marriage and Family stipulates:

Article 15. Rights and obligations of parents and children in cases where men and women live together as husband and wife without marriage registration.

Rights and obligations between men and women living together as husband and wife and children shall be settled in accordance with the provisions of this Law on the rights and obligations of parents and children.

Thus, if a man and a woman live together as husband and wife without registering their marriage, the joint custody of their children will still be settled in the same way as they have been married.

According to Article 81 of the Law on Family Marriage 2014 stipulates:

Article 81. The care, nurture and education of children after divorce

1. After a divorce, parents still have the rights and obligations to look after, care for, nurture and educate their minor children, adult children who have lost their civil act capacity or are incapable of working and have no assets to support themselves in accordance with this Law, The Civil Code and other relevant laws.
2. Spouses agree on the direct custody of children, obligations and rights of each party after divorce for children; in case of failure to reach an agreement, the Court shall decide to assign the child to a direct custody party based on the child’s interests in all aspects; If your child is at least 07 years old, your child’s wishes must be considered.
3. Children under 36 months old shall be entrusted to their mothers for direct custody, unless the mother is not qualified to directly look after, care for, nurture or educate the child or the parents have other agreements suitable to the interests of the child.

Accordingly, the Court will consider the following factors to determine who is the direct custodian of the child:

+ The court decides to assign the child to a direct custody party based on the interests in all aspects of the child; If your child is at least 07 years old, your child’s wishes must be considered.

+ Children under 36 months old shall be assigned to their mothers for direct custody, if the mother is not qualified to directly look after, care for, nurture and educate their children, they will directly hand them over to the father to raise the child or prioritize the agreement of the parties if it is beneficial for the child.

Note: The wishes of children aged 7 years and older when deciding who to live with is only one of the factors for the court to consider the decision to assign the child directly to custody. The court must consider a range of other factors comprehensively to make a final decision. This decision is based on the best interests of the child and the appropriateness of the future upbringing of the child.  

The rights and obligations of parents towards their children are very important, even if the parents do not have a marital relationship. Parents need to ensure that they are responsible and care about the development and education of their children later on. The relationship between father, mother and child is a sacred and noble relationship, so ensuring and maintaining this good value is contributing to ensuring the culture and fine customs of the nation, and at the same time contributing to the implementation of the State’s legal policies.