Q: My daughter has resided with me for the past 3 years, what are my rights as a father.
My daughter has stayed with her mother when her mother came around. The first 2 years she only stayed with her mom 3 days or less some times none a month during the 2 years. Recently she has been going with her 3-6 days every other week. I have been trying to keep my daughter from going with her due to she is an alcoholic and recently got into an accident with the child in the car and was driving under the influence. When she does go with her mom i will call and my daughter will answer phone and everyone else is asleep. Id say about everytime she goes with her. My daughter would tell me she wants to come back with me but her mom will force her to stay and wont let me pick her up. When i got her back from her mother this last time she had a bruise on back of her arm and could tell it was bite bark i asked and she said mommy bit her. My daughter doesnt want to stay go with her mom. What can i do as a father?
A: It sounds as if there is no custody arrangement in place (or else custody would be handled by the agreement). You have at least two options. First, you could voluntarily come up with a parenting agreement between you and the mother, but it sounds like finding a mutual agreement is unlikely. Second, you could file formal proceedings with a court where you would ask the court to enter an order defining how custody will be arranged.
Bonnie M Lonardo agrees with this answer
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