Q: If someone pays child support, do they automatically get granted visitation out of wedlock?
My 6 year old's father has been in prison for 5 years, just got released from prison at the beginning of this year. We were never married, although our child has his last name, she has always been in my custody. I have very legitimate reasons to keep her away from him, due to his actions since he has been out & how abusive and mentally unstable he has always been. I have videos, messages, recordings, that provide proof of him being an unfit parent & incapable of being a safe parent for her to be around, etc. I have never gone after him for child support, but he feels he shouldn't have to help with her financially, & demand to bring himself back and forth into her life, letting her down chance after chance. Is there any way I could receive child support from him for our child, without allowing him to have unsupervised visitation?
A: He will not automatically get visitation. You can file for child support if you wish. If he wants visitation, he has to file a separate case for that.
A: Yes, you can. Those two things do not necessarily go together. You can apply for child support at the local child support office. He is obligated to support the child regardless of whether he has custody rights. He may file for legitimation in order to establish his rights, but the court is not required to legitimize him. If the court finds it is not in the child's best interest for him to be legitimized, they will not do it.
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