Santa Rosa, CA asked in Family Law and Child Custody for California

Q: I am the mistress & had a baby with a married man, can he take my baby away? Also if he was to disappear what can I do?

He didn’t show up for baby’s birth nor does he work

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1 Lawyer Answer

A: Until there are court orders (and assuming he's on the birth certificate or that there is no dispute that he's the father), either parent (at least under California law) could take the child. The best thing to do is to file a paternity case in the county where you and the baby are located. A paternity case is like a divorce case, except that the parents were not married to each other.

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