My friend recently had a baby with a drug addict. He was just informed he has no legal rights because he is not the child's legal guardian (because he and the mom are no longer together). He has been looking after the child on his own for 5+ months and he and the mother are no longer together. Is this true? If so, what steps can he take to obtain these rights and to gain custody of his daughter?
2007-04-23 12:49:44 · 7 answers · asked by Matt B 1 in Politics & Government ➔ Law & Ethics
1. Is he on the birth certificate? If not, a DNA test is needed.
2. Possesion is 9/10ths of the law. If he has the child and the mother is absent due to drugs or whatever reason then the father should go to court and get all custody rights. They will send a letter to her. If she shows up she can fight that and ask for joint custody, supervised visitation or whatever. If she doesn't show up he should get what he asks for and have full custody and not owe the mother anything. He could even get childd support from her.
2007-04-23 13:00:41 · answer #1 · answered by Jenae, TV (tempter of the vile) 5 · 1⤊ 0⤋
First thing if his name is on the birth certificate then ys he has rights. If its not and he knows that then he can take the mother to court to get a legal DNA test done. If the test comes back that he is in fact the biologica father his name will then be put on the birth certificate and he then gains full legal rights as a guardian just as the mother has.
As for some sort of custody...assuming he will want his child, he would need to prove that she is in fact an un-fit parent. If he could do that then he will have his daughter and only have to do visitation for the mother.
2007-04-23 20:30:57 · answer #2 · answered by Mel 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
The fact that he is no longer with the mother has zero bearing on his rights as a father... if he can prove that he is the father of the child either through a paternity test or if the mother is woman enough to admit that he fathered the child. Hell.. What am I saying.. she's a druggie and a woman... she would never tell the truth.
But anyway... if he can prove he is the father through a paternity test, he can petition the court to get custody of his child given the mothers obvious lack of self control... and the court would be stupid to not see that he would be the better parent for his child, rather than being with a crack ho of a mother who is likely to spend the baby's food money on her next fix.
2007-04-23 20:02:20 · answer #3 · answered by Cameron 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Every parent has a constitutional right to the "care, custody, and control" of his/her child until the Court says otherwise and only then after showing that he is unfit. Your friend needs to file a paternity suit, ASAP. That will determine him as the child's father, his right to custody and/or visitation, and child support.
2007-04-23 20:02:02 · answer #4 · answered by TLBFH 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
That is not true. If he is the biological father, in this country, he has rights. The only time this would not be true is if the court has taken them away.
He needs to find a good lawyer and take this issue of custody to a Family Court.
2007-04-23 20:01:07 · answer #5 · answered by A M 3 · 2⤊ 0⤋
If he's in the US, yes. He can have a DNA test done to prove that he's the biological father & then have her declared an unfit mother if she is a drug addict. If not, and he's just trying to smear her character, it's a whole other issue.
2007-04-23 19:58:30 · answer #6 · answered by shermynewstart 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
If his name is on the BC, then he does have rights.
Until it is decided in court, he does.. Believe me!! i worked for awhile to get rid of my loser boyfriend... and it just took a paper, sayin, "im taking your *** to court!"
Good luck to your friend.
2007-04-23 19:57:30 · answer #7 · answered by MIS 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋