Q: My wife and I are getting a divorce she's not allowed me to see my son without any paperwork she is gone into hiding in
My wife and I are filing for divorce we have a three-year-old son who is not biologically yours he was given to us by my sister we have no legal adoption papers written out but he has been with us since birth we took him home the day after he was born he calls me father he calls her mother I want to be in this child's life are refusing any visitation from me and I'm gone into hiding within our city I need to know if I need to go through Family Court first then file for divorce or what am i options if any
A: You have a number of complex issues that will require the assistance of an experienced family law attorney. Your divorce is most likely going to be a separate case from custody of your sister's biological child. Based on the facts you have listed, you or your wife, or the both of you together, could file for custody, but the longer that you delay, the more difficult that it would be to prevail in a custody battle. I strongly urge you to file for custody immediately. The time period between when the child last lived with you and the date that you file are going to be the two most relevant dates in determining if you can preserve your rights to your son. This is not a case that the attorney general, or the county will file for you. You need to take action yourself.
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