Q: I'm an unmarried mother. Me and the father have only ever had verbal agreements as custody. Can I not let her see him?
He pays child support and usually gets her every fri evening thru mon morning. Courts did not decide custody or visitation. Can I keep her from seeing him, due to a violent situation the last time they were together. No police report was filed.
A: If you were not married to the father, and there is no court order granting parenting rights to the father, then you are the sole custodial parent, and you alone get to decide when or if he will see your child, and under what circumstances. You can even deny him any contact. He would then have to go to court and ask the court to grant him some parenting rights to see the child. At that hearing, you can testify about the violent situation. Be sure to file police reports and keep notes of any problems or disputes so you can testify about it in court. Use the Find a Lawyer tab to consult a local family law attorney.
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