Q: Who has custody if there is no custody agreement in place?
My son is 4 1/2 years old and has always lived with me, we have not lived with his father since he was 3 months old. There is no custody agreement in place and he barely gets him every month. He recently got married and decided he wants to step up and be a father. He out of nowhere text me and said he picked up our son, he's staying the night with him and i can see him tomorrow. What can i do about this and how can i stop it from happening again before we get an agreement set up. I have currently filed for child support and waiting on that to go through.
A: If you were never married to the biological father and there is no order on time-sharing, then you are, by default, the parent with all the time-sharing and sole parental responsibility. The father does not have any rights to time-sharing until there is a parenting plan with time-sharing schedule established as part of a paternity action. If the father refuses to return the child, you may want to consider filing a verified motion for child pick-up order.
Justia Ask a Lawyer is a forum for consumers to get answers to basic legal questions. Any information sent through Justia Ask a Lawyer is not secure and is done so on a non-confidential basis only.
The use of this website to ask questions or receive answers does not create an attorney–client relationship between you and Justia, or between you and any attorney who receives your information or responds to your questions, nor is it intended to create such a relationship. Additionally, no responses on this forum constitute legal advice, which must be tailored to the specific circumstances of each case. You should not act upon information provided in Justia Ask a Lawyer without seeking professional counsel from an attorney admitted or authorized to practice in your jurisdiction. Justia assumes no responsibility to any person who relies on information contained on or received through this site and disclaims all liability in respect to such information.
Justia cannot guarantee that the information on this website (including any legal information provided by an attorney through this service) is accurate, complete, or up-to-date. While we intend to make every attempt to keep the information on this site current, the owners of and contributors to this site make no claims, promises or guarantees about the accuracy, completeness or adequacy of the information contained in or linked to from this site.
