Need custody advice

[swfalcon]

I need some advice and a starting point on getting custody of my baby or at least established visitation.  I am an unwed father living in MN, the mother and baby are living in NC.  I recently disharged from the army and the mother of my child broke up with me.  She is an okay mother, but being so far from my child is destroying me--visiting is difficult and expensive, moving there is impossible.  I do believe I would be the better parent but have no idea how to go about trying for custody and no money for a good lawyer.  There has not been a custodial parent appointed--no court involvement at all yet.  Please, can someone tell me what my rights are and what I should do or be doing? thanks!

[Brent]

One of the first things you'll hear is "Document, document, document!". Get yourself either the Parenting Time Tracker (PTT) or the OPTIMAL Custody Tracking service at: http://www.parentingtime.net. The PTT is good, but the OPTIMAL service is better.

Some of these pages will apply more than others, but they all have valuable information:

Tips For Getting Started
http://www.deltabravo.net/news/10-19-2000.htm

How To Hire An Attorney
http://www.deltabravo.net/custody/hiring.htm

Hiring An Effective Attorney
http://www.deltabravo.net/custody/effective.htm

Success Factors In Obtaining Custody
http://www.deltabravo.net/custody/tips.htm

[Kitty C.]

If you and the mother were never married, she IS the custodial parent.  You will have no rights until you petition the court for paternity and custody.  If she and the baby have lived in NC over 6 months, that is the state with jurisdiciton and you will have to go to court there.  If they've been there under six months, the state that has jurisdiction is the state the child had lived in the longest.