I have a 3 year-old son, his father and i were never married, we broke up shortly after the baby turned a year old, and he hasnt been in either of our lives since the break up. I would like to get full custody of my son, but am not sure how to go about doing so. Could you please advise me on how and where to begin? your time is greatly appreciated.
>I have a 3 year-old son, his father and i were never married,
>we broke up shortly after the baby turned a year old, and he
>hasnt been in either of our lives since the break up. I would
>like to get full custody of my son, but am not sure how to go
>about doing so. Could you please advise me on how and where to
>begin? your time is greatly appreciated.
Is there a child support order in place?
No, no child support order I do not wish to have one either.
Based on your facts, you already have sole custody, because the father has never petitioned the court to establish himself as the legal father.
Therefore, there is nothing for you to do.
Even though his name is on the birth certificate? You see another part of the problem is that he is in jail, and upon his release in 2009 (from what i've been told that's how long he'll be there) I don't want him coming out demanding parental rights and what not.
>Even though his name is on the birth certificate? You see
>another part of the problem is that he is in jail, and upon
>his release in 2009 (from what i've been told that's how long
>he'll be there) I don't want him coming out demanding parental
>rights and what not.
I doubt that the father will be looking for visitation rights, because I'm fairly certain that he knows that he will have to pay child support as a consequence of receiving visitation.
You could petition the court to terminate the father's parental rights, but, it's not likely that the court would grant your request, unless someone else is willing to step into the father's shoes as legal parent.
In any case, to petition to terminate is a complicated process and you're not gonna pull it off without an attorney.