I haven't quite found the right answer to this. My fiancé put his name on the birth certificate of a child from a previous relationship but he is not the biological father. The child's mother has left her children with her mother for 3 months with pretty much no contact. The grandparents are filing for guardianship of the children and my fiancé would like to get custody of the child with his name. Does he have legal rights to this child? The bio father is in prison and the mother is in drugs and the grandparents are not only caring for her 3 children but also for 4 of her sister's. I would love to remove this child from this environment, well all the kids really, but as we only have a remote chance at the one, we will take anything. We are in Indiana. Any information would be helpful ----- Thank You

If his name is on the because he's the legal father. Unless someone challenges it, he can ask the courts for custody.

At this point he is the legal father and has all the rights of the father, in fact unless asked he does not have to even mention he is not the bio father.

If this is in the US, if he is listed on the birth certificate, in some ( but not all) states, after a lengh of time, the bio father can not even take those rights away from the person on the birth certificate.

So he can file for custody in court as the child's father.