Hello

My daughter is 17 and pregnant. Not to get into much detail, the father is not the type of person I want my Grandchild alone with nor his family.
What should we do?
Do we have to file for custody after the birth? Or will it be granted to my daughter? Do we has parents have rights since she is still legally a minor?
Thank you in advance,
Lynn

In some places 17 may not be considered a minor in this instance. As parents you have very little rights with respect to custody. If the father does not relinquish his parental rights, then there is little you can do to block him from seeing his child. You can and should require that he pay child support unless he does relinquish his rights.

Your daughter will have custody, though the father can request and even force visitiation or even joint custody. Unless you can prove there is a danger to the child, its unlikely you can block it.

Custody will be hers unless the father fights her for it. Then it could be sticky. Of course, the mother always has an edge but nothing's guaranteed. As for visitation, it's not likely that you'll be able to deny the father that if he wants it. Your reasons for not wanting your grandchild around him or his family may be logical but the court's not going to see it that way unless you have overwhelming factual evidence to support that. As parents, no you have no rights, save for whatever Grandparent Rights your state may recognize if it even does, as your daughter, upon giving birth, would legally be emancipated.

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Originally Posted by ScottGem

In some places 17 may not be considered a minor in this instance. As parents you have very little rights with respect to custody. If the father does not relinquish his parental rights, then there is little you can do to block him from seeing his child. You can and should require that he pay child support unless he does relinquish his rights.

Your daughter will have custody, though the father can request and even force visitiation or even joint custody. Unless you can prove there is a danger to the child, its unlikely you can block it.

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To expand on Scott's comments about child support, the father can be legally required to pay if your daughter sues him for it. However, keep in mind that if the father is a teenager himself, his resources for paying child support may be quite limited.

I have one question, Does your daughter plan on putting the father on the birth certificate?

This could possibly keep him from visitation or custody unless he demands a paternity test. If she does not put him on the B/C however, she will not be able to collect child support from him.

I would be interested in your daughter's point of view and could you elaborate on the boyfriend and his family? Whether you like it or not he is still the father and will have certain rights.