Q: My son is ten, fathers name is on the birth certificate. No custody agreement in place. What rights does he have?
He has proven to be irresponsible every time he has had our son, so do i need to go to court to establish sole custody with supervised visitation? Or can I legally tell him he has to come here to visit without a custody agreement on paper? Father lives on base in Colorado. My son has lived with me full time since birth.
A: If neither of you went to court to have the father's rights declared and arrange custody; then he has no rights to the child. The best course of action is always to go to court and get an enforceable custody agreement on paper. However, until a visitation schedule is on file with the court, you can dictate the terms of his visitation with your son. Talk to a lawyer about the specifics of your situation.
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.
