My boyfriend had a child with another woman when they were 17/18 years old about 2 years ago. He asked to see her when she was born and got to only a few times. The last was when she was 3 months old. He has asked numerous times since to see his daughter but she won’t answer calls or emails. If she does, she refuses to let him see her, telling him he needs a lawyer if he wants to see her. The number of times he’s asked and been turned down has been discouraging for him, so for about 6 months he stopped trying. Now realizing that he wants full use of his paternal rights, he’s unsure of how to jump back into the process. There is no custody plan, but she and her fiancé live together with his daughter. He pays child support, has never missed a payment or even been late with it. What can he do before getting a lawyer in order to get the ball rolling to see his daughter?

He has to file an action in court to seek custody /visitation with the child. Presumably there is a court case already pending out of which the orders for support arise. He should be able to file a motion with the court in that case to obtain custody and visitation orders. He doesn't have to have a lawyer to do this but he probably needs to speak with someone to help guide him through the process.