Georgia father left unmarried mother of his children whom he has lived with for 12 years. HIs kids are 3 & 11. SHe says she will have him arrested for kidnapping if he keeps the kids overnight at his new home. He has always been very active in the lives of those kids. Can she really do this? Legally?

If there is a custody order and it does not allow him overnight visitation, then yes, it is parential kidnapping.

If there is no custody order in place he can take the kids and never give them back until a court orders custody and be perfectly within his rights.

Until there is a court order they are both 'equal' parents.

Note: this is assuming he is the legal father (on birth certificate and paternity legally established)

Thank you stevetcg. That makes sense. I wish I had thought to come here & ask sooner. Now, the next question is: if they get joint custody, does my son have to pay child support? He will aim for full custody. But we just want to know what we might be dealing with.

It depends on the judge. If they get true joint custody the theory is that they are already splitting the costs of raising the child and usually no support is awarded. However true 'joint custody' is problematic due to work, childcare and many other factors.

I am going to let you know though... if the mother doesn't want to give it up and she isn't found unfit, chances of the father getting full custody are almost nil. The vast majority of courts are going to side with the mother.

Hello, in Georgia you have different levels of custody.

First there is legal custody, that is who can make choices for and on the child
So that is one issue and then there has to be a decission on who or how a decission is made if the two do not agree.

Next there is physical custody, that is where the child lives.
In GA unless the parents live in the same school district you are not going to get joint physical custody most likely.

Next is his name on the birth certificate,

Is there a custody ordere in place
And if so what are the terms.

Not enough info for a real good answer,
But he needs to file for custody and /or visits.

Thanks you so much. His name is on the birth certificates. Since he just moved out last week, no papers have been filed at all. His new place is in the same school district & is very kid friendly, both the neighborhood & the home itself.

Thanks you so much. His name is on the birth certificates. Since he just moved out last week, no papers have been filed at all. His new place is in the same school district & is very kid friendly, both the neighborhood & the home itself.

Please be aware that some places, just because his name is on the birth certificate does not necessarily make him the LEGAL father. I would definitely recommend checking with a local family law lawyer.

In the south there is a new trend. When the fathers are fighting for full custody, they are actually winning (at least here is Mississippi).

So don't give up hope.

Quite nice to hear about that trend, Sylvan.
Steve, thanks for the legal father warning. I don't think anyone would contest that he is the father, but it is good to be forwarned.

If he is there biological father then no, it is parenting

In GA, the father on the birth certificate makes him the legal father.
He can not be charges with kidnapping his own children.

But he also can not "steal" them away without a court order, Had he left the home and they moved with him, she could not have just taken them either.

He needs to file "ASAP" for temp custody order ( at least visits)

And yes if they get joint custody child support will be figures by a formula, so if he has a much higher earnings he may be paying some support.

The courts esp in and around Atlanta are very good about givign joint custody esp if they live in same school district

In the south there is a new trend. When the fathers are fighting for full custody, they are actually winning (at least here is Mississippi).

So dont give up hope.

Can you prove this somehow ? A link or study you can point to ?

Keeping a child overnight where the custody order does not allow for this is merely a contempt, not parental kidnapping.

Parental kidnapping is hiding the child from the co-parent, running off with the child and not letting the other parent know where you are. That sort of thing (that's a generalization but roughly how it works). Think of the classic scenario where mom takes off with the kid to another state to live with her parents, lies to the kid's dad about where she and the kid are, and has that attitude, "It's MY baby..he's just the sperm donor" or, a dad does this and says, "It's MY kid, she's a no-good mom who just provided the womb-services." That's not what's going on here in this OP's question.

It's true that if there is no contrary court order and the dad is a presumed dad (because he's on the birth certificate, or whatever) he's got the same rights to the kid and can keep the kid overnight, of course. The mom and dad are on a level playing field until a court comes along and makes orders.

Oh and a little lesson on criminal law: private parties do not have other people arrested for anything. They may be victims of crimes or witnesses that complain, sure. And that maybe sparks an investigation that leads to an arrest or charge,but it's always the call of the local DA's office whether to prosecute a crime. If the mom in this case ran to the police or DA's office and complained that the dad kept the kids overnight and she wanted him arrested for kidnapping, they'd tell her to get lost.

And finally, child support is set by the state's guideline. Most states look at a number of factors in setting support like timeshare with the kid, income of the parties (some states use gross, some net) and on and on. Suffice it to say that it is not uncommon to see parenting orders where time with the kids is 50-50 but one parent pays the other support simply because of the differential in incomes of the parents.