Your parents can also come to court to ask the judge to decide who your father is. This may be because your father s name is not on your birth certificate, or because your parents weren t married to each other when you were born. The judge can make a decision about who is legally your father. This decision is called paternity or parentage . Domestic Violence Sometimes parents, or people who live together, get scared of each other.
Some parents hurt each other or their children.
This is called domestic violence . If one parent hurts or really scares the other parent, that other parent can ask the judge for help. The judge can make a court order that tells the parent who is hurting or scaring the family to stay away and not hurt the family anymore. This kind of court order is called a restraining order , or sometimes a TRO , for temporary restraining order . If your parents and the mediator can t work out a parenting plan, the judge may tell your parents to get a custody evaluation.