please help me keep my daughter!

[helpmeingeorgia]

My girlfiend and I live in georgia. We are unmarried (she has my last name and i am on the birth certificate) and have a beautiful 15 month old daughter. Our plan had been to get married but now she wants to move away and take our daughter to Atlanta. She plans to move in with a friend. I or my daughter have ever met this person. My GF has only seen her 2 times in 2 years and everytime she comes home from this persons house she is hungover and unable to help with the chore and stuff. She (my GF) suffers from depression (sometimes she takes her pills and sometimes she doesnt) and allows our daughter to be around her convicted child sex offender stepdad who her mother still lives with. She (my GF) has told me before that our daughter would be better off in my care but has since changed her mind. I have her on video saying that I have been a fantastic father and that she would be better off with me (I take care of most of the daycare driving, cooking, cleaning, bathing ect). I also have her mother on tape saying she thinks its ok for our daughter to be around the sex offender and that I am an outstanding father. Ive tried to get her into therapy to work on our relationship but she has stopped going. Im just real scared. I dont wish any harm on the mother but I am affraid of the choices mom is making. Please offer me advice. My lawyer and I are filing a deprivation (sp) custody thing next week (because we are unmarried) and I just want to make sure Im doing the right thing. It breaks my heart that it has come to this. please excuse my grammer and stuff.... im just real nervous and trying to type this in a hurry. Im sure ive forgotten something but .......
please....
helpmeingeorgia!

[mistoffolees]

Sounds like you're doing the right things. Keep doing your best to be a good father (even going overboard to spend every available minute with your daughter) and do whatever your attorney says. And document everything. You might want to start a journal where at the end of the day you write down everything you did with your daughter and all the things your gf did or didn't do.

Good luck.

[Jade]

>My girlfiend and I live in georgia. We are unmarried (she has
>my last name and i am on the birth certificate) and have a
>beautiful 15 month old daughter. Our plan had been to get
>married but now she wants to move away and take our daughter
>to Atlanta. She plans to move in with a friend. I or my
>daughter have ever met this person. My GF has only seen her 2
>times in 2 years and everytime she comes home from this
>persons house she is hungover and unable to help with the
>chore and stuff. She (my GF) suffers from depression
>(sometimes she takes her pills and sometimes she doesnt) and
>allows our daughter to be around her convicted child sex
>offender stepdad who her mother still lives with. She (my GF)
>has told me before that our daughter would be better off in my
>care but has since changed her mind. I have her on video
>saying that I have been a fantastic father and that she would
>be better off with me (I take care of most of the daycare
>driving, cooking, cleaning, bathing ect). I also have her
>mother on tape saying she thinks its ok for our daughter to be
>around the sex offender and that I am an outstanding father.
>Ive tried to get her into therapy to work on our relationship
>but she has stopped going. Im just real scared. I dont wish
>any harm on the mother but I am affraid of the choices mom is
>making. Please offer me advice. My lawyer and I are filing a
>deprivation (sp) custody thing next week (because we are
>unmarried) and I just want to make sure Im doing the right
>thing. It breaks my heart that it has come to this. please
>excuse my grammer and stuff.... im just real nervous and
>trying to type this in a hurry. Im sure ive forgotten
>something but .......
>please....
>helpmeingeorgia!
>


First, if I were you, I would hire a good attorney and file for primary custody.  You clearly have been the primary caregiver in your child's life.   She is little and needs to be with the primary caregiver.  

Second, I would push to get it into ANY court order (even if you don't win primary custody) that your daughter can't be around the stepgrandfather at all.  Use the conviction as the reason.  Your daughter needs to be protected from this child predator.  

Good luck.  I am hoping that you win for your daughter's sake.