What is true regarding the legitimacy of parental benefits in the absence of a legal marriage?

The correct choice reflects the understanding that the dynamics of parental benefits are influenced by the involvement and support provided by each parent, regardless of their marital status. Shared parental care and support can directly affect eligibility for benefits because many programs consider the active participation of both parents in the child's upbringing. This holistic view encourages both parents to be involved and ensures that two-parent households, whether married or not, are considered equally in terms of benefits.

In many jurisdictions, benefit eligibility can be assessed based on how involved each parent is in providing care, emotional support, financial contributions, and overall involvement in the child's life. This factor can lead to different outcomes regarding how benefits are granted.

On the other hand, the other options suggest absolutes or overly simplistic scenarios that do not capture the nuances of parental rights and benefits in cases where the parents are not legally married. These include automatic benefit allocation, dependency solely on custody arrangements, or benefit grants without consideration of the involved circumstances, which do not accurately reflect the complexities of benefit eligibility.