My husband has a child with another woman and they have never been married. He is the father and he pays child support. We live in the same small town and he does not get to see his daughter very often. When he calls her she does not answer the phone half the time and does not return his calls. When he does get to see her it is for about an hour and it is across the street from where the mother works. There is no custody agreement and we just want to see his daughter more and take her places. What do we need to do to make this happen?

Go to court an file papers for Visitation. Custody and Support should be addressed at that time too. Is his name on the birth records? If not a DNA test may be ordered first.

I do not think his name is on the birth certicate because she does not have his last name. They did have a DNA test done and child support was issued, but not any visitation or joint custody.

If the court ordered a test for DNA in order to establish a paternaty for child suppor all you have to do is go back to the same court and request an order for visitation. Most people have it all done at the same time but you can still go back and request it now.

Will we have to get a lawyer or can we do it ourselves?

You don't need a lawyer but having one will definitely be a help.

It's odd that the court ordered child support without any compromise on visitation. Custody, on the other hand, is completely separate from visitation; custody gives one or both parents the right to make major decisions for the child until they reach the legal age. It has nothing to do with how much time each parent sees the child.

Thank you all for the information it was helpful.