Q: My daughter's mother and I had a verbal agreement regarding financial support and visitation. Never court ordered.
Lately she hasn't been allowing me to see or speak to my daughter. I filed legitimation papers, which include visitation, custody, and child support. Will our verbal agreement be of any use and Where do I stand
A: Until you have an order legitimating you as the father of the child, you have no rights to your daughter (visitation, child support, etc.). With you filing for legitimation, that is the first step in getting an established visitation schedule. The current verbal agreement is less important than what the actual practice has been (e.g. orally you guys agreed to every other weekend, but in practice in is really more every weekend). The visitation that has actually gone on will set a precedent for what both parties are comfortable with, at a minimum. If you are filing your legitimation pro se, I caution you to proceed any further without representation. If you do have an attorney, these types of questions can be directed to him or her.
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