My daughter will soon be 7 years old. Has been just the two of us her entire life. I do not have a fathers name on the birth certificate, because(at the time of birth) I wasn't 100% sure which of two men was the father. She has met him no more than ten times her entire life, never knowing her was her father, on his request. Now, he is filing a paternity case, and what I assume will turn into visitation. I am in California. What is the process of paternity cases? After the test, must I put him on the B.C? What is the min. visitation? How can I secure the min. and have them supervised? Does his long history of drug abuse and prison time come into consideration when looking out for the best interest of the child? I am scare and confused. Any advice would help.

First, the process is simple. He applies for partial custody and visitation. The court orders a paternity test. If its positive then he will probably be granted visitation. He can request that the BC be amended and that will usually be granted.

However, given his history, you should be requesting supervised visitation and it will, probably be granted.

You would be best served by getting an attorney to help you through this. Especially if he has one.

Also, you should counter file for support.