The mother of my two children moved out of our house taking our two children we are not married and have not been to court. There is abuse in the house as well as drugs. I have tried to get in contact with her and she want talk to me or let me talk to our children. I have been paying child support however that was never court order. Am I in my rights to take the children away from her now or do have to go through the court then get them?

Are you on the birth certificate? What you need to do is file for custody and if you believe drugs are involved then make sure some testing gets done to back those claims up. You may be required to get a DNA test done if you never signed the birth certificate or aknowlaged paternity.

Yes I am on the birth certificate

Then go to court tomorrow and file for custody. Also you are going to need proof to back up any claims of drugs not just hearsay.

How does one get proof of drugs its not like I can drug test her I don't even know where she is at

I just want to know can I just take them like she did to me or do I have to go to court. I can't even find out what my rights are. If I had a lot of money I would be in court today but I don't and my children are paying for that the longer this goes on

Since you are on the birth certificate you are their legal father and have equal rights to custody. That means you can take custody of the children but it also means she can take them back.

If you don't know where she is how are you going to get them? You can't just walk up to her door and take them, she can call the police and prevent it. Remember she has the SAME rights you do.

Family court is not that expensive. But yes, you will need to prove abuse or drug use. You can try calling the local family services agency to investigate.

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Originally Posted by joez1200

how does one get proof of drugs its not like I can drug test her I don't even know where she is at

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You are not the one that drug tests her but you could have the court order her to take a test.

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Originally Posted by califdadof3

You are not the one that drug tests her but you could have the court order her to take a test.

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I agree, but the court would require some justification to order such a test. Past history of drug use, finding drug paraphernalia in the home, etc.