In Portland OR, where would I go to get custody of my daughter established? She has always lived with me but there are no legal arrangements between her father and I. Lately he is trying to TELL me he wants her there with him mon-fri. That is not going to happen as that is NOT what my daughter wants. I now know that I need the custody established with the state if he cannot be made to 'see the light'. Where do I need to go and what forms would I need to get? Never married and she has always lived with me..

You need to file for both child support and for custody. Have you gotten a supprt order yet? For custody your local court house can help you file for that. Its best if possible to have a lawyer to take you through the process.

This looks like a good place to start:

Department of Community Justice- Family Court (http://www.co.multnomah.or.us/dcj/fcourt.shtml)

Good luck and keep us posted.

He will of course get some visit times, and many courts are giving more and more joint custody ( requiring counseling if one parent has not been in their life enough..

So always temper words like "that is not going to happen" since one never knows what can or will happen of course