My brother has a 5yr old daughter. He is not on the birth certificate but did get a DNA test. He has her 99% of the time. Up until 6 month ago he paid child support ( not court order) just to keep the mother happy and away. She is heavily into drugs and rarely sees her or calls. My brother is scared to take her to court because statistically the courts favor the mother and financially he can no longer afford it. I realize hiring an attorney is what needs to happen but again finances are issue. I didn't know if there was anything he could do to try and keep the cost down? Any help or advise would be greatly appreciated. BTW he lives in Louisiana.

1) Document her drug issues. Get arrest reports, drug tests etc.
2) Was the DNA test court ordered? If so, why? What type of case was it?
3) Petition the court to have him declared the legal father with sole legal custody.

He does not need an attorney to do this. Family courts are more user friendly. However, if she obtains an attorney he will need one. One thing to check is to find a local law school. Many have clinics that will help him prepare strategy and paperwork for little or no cost.

But since he is not on the birth certificate and unless he has a court order declaring him the legal father, he has no legal right to her. Has he registered her for school yet? How was he able to do that without documentation he is the father? If he hasn't, then he has to move now or he may not be able to register her.

Why in the world did he not go to court sooner? (you don't have to answer that) He can probably handle all of this without a lawyer he just needs to start as soon as in the morning. He needs to petition the court to make him the legal father and give him custody. He doesn't owe the mother child support and shouldn't have been paying it thus far but don't dwell on that too much.

My brother got the DNA test on his own just to make sure. The only reason he was giving her money was to keep her away. He was fearful that if he didn't that she would come and get her. She is in school. He is able to get the mother to show up only when he tells her he has a check for her. Thank you for the advise I am going to look into how to petition the courts without an attorney.

I'm really surprised he was able to get her into school. He has NO documentation that he is her parent. She can just show up with the birth certificate and take her. The school was remiss in allowing him to register her. If she needs medical attention he may not be able to authorize it. He needs to move NOW! The DNA test will probably not be recognized in court so he will need another one.