I just found out that I am the father of a 4 year old girl. The child has been living with her grandma (On the mothers side of course) for the last 3 years but when the grandma died about 6 months ago the child's aunt got the child. The mother rarely sees her and when she does its not more than a weekend and she is in the process of signing over her guardianship rights to her sister (the child's aunt). Now that I have found out I am the father I am trying to be in my child's life 24/7 but the aunt is making it very difficult for me. I am going to file an establishment of paternity in the next few days and I am really wanting to get custody of her (after she really gets to know me) I know that I can provide a better life for her than the aunt can. I am wondering how much of a chance I have of getting custody since it has been 4 years and the aunt really wants custody. And I know that the mother, once she finds out that I want custody is going to all of a sudden want to have custody too. Does the father have more rights than the aunt or is there a chance that the aunt could take custody?

Yes, a father has more rights than an aunt... but that might not matter for a while. The court's decision will be based on what is best for the child and change is rarely best.

You are smart for approaching it in the "after she gets to know me" way.

This WILL be a court battle so I would save some money and get yourself a good lawyer. You should ultimately win out over anyone but the bio mother... but its not a fast process or a slam dunk.