Custody & Kidnapping

Although I am not specifically familiar with [STATE] laws, I can provide you with general information. Generally, a mother’s custody rights may be automatically established when she gives birth so a mother may not necessarily need a custody order to prove she has custody.

If a mother is not married when she gives birth, the father may have to first do something to legally establish his fatherhood (known as paternity) - establishing paternity is when a biological father does something to legally declare himself the father. By doing this, it may be easier for him to get legal rights to the child (such as visitation or custody) but establishing paternity may also be necessary for the child to get child support. If the father is at the hospital during delivery, he may sign an affidavit of paternity – this is often how an unmarried father establishes paternity. Sometimes, if a mother does not want the father to establish paternity for fear of the child’s safety or for other reasons, she may choose not to include the father in the birth so that he will not have an affidavit of paternity presented to him to sign. Often if a father doesn’t establish paternity at birth, he may have to go to court to file a petition to establish his paternity. Until it is established, he might not have any legal rights to the child (although this can vary from state to state) and the mother may not be able to sue him for child support.

Sometimes people ask if they can apply for custody before the child is born. I can’t speak to your specific state’s laws but generally, courts might not hear a custody case or a child support case until the child is born. Some limited states may allow for a person to file a custody petition prior to birth if the return court date would come after the child is born but I am really not sure what states, if any, allow this type of pre-birth filing. An attorney in [STATE] who specializes in custody may be able to give you advice about when you can file (before or after birth) and about whether or not you should file even after the child is born. Here is a link to free and paid lawyers: LINK Here is also more information on custody in STATE: LINK

The reason why many parents may want to get a custody order is when the other parent is trying to visit with the child or keep the child with him/her. Sometimes, a parent is worried that the other parent may take the baby on a visit and not return him/her, for example. If so, this might be a reason that a parent may want to file for custody. However, generally, courts encourage both parents to have some sort of custody or visitation unless there are exceptional circumstances and so if one parent wants to file for sole custody with no visitation to the other parent, this can often be very hard to do. Also, although I can’t speak to your situation, sometimes when one parent who already has the child living with him/her files for custody, the other parent may all of the sudden want full or joint custody as well - either as a way to retaliate or in response to feeling that the other parent is trying to take away his/her rights. If joint custody is granted, the parent who was raising the child may end up having to consult with the other parent on all decisions and abide by a strict visitation schedule, depending on what the final custody/visitation order ends up to be.

You might want to talk to a lawyer before filing for custody to see if that is the best option for you or not based on your specific situation and to think through the positives and negatives of filing.