[TT1976]

Background- My daughter's father and I were in a relationship but he was never involved since the beginning of my pregnancy (nor has he met my 11 month old daughter), but he does pay child support. He is not listed on hr birth certificate and she has my last name.
What document can I carry as proof of sole custody for school applications, in the even of medical decisions and applying for a passport and while traveling?
Is this a document I can create on my own or would I require his signature? Is it a document I can draw up using a template of some sort? Or must it be issued by a judge? If I draw it up,must it be witnessed by a notary or lawyer? And, I live in Ontario, Canada

[ScottGem]

Is the child support court ordered? Custody can only be ordered by a court. If you went to court for support you should have gotten custody ordered at the same time. So you will need to go to court to get such a document. This will mean that he will have to consent to your having sole custody.

Is his lack of involvement by his choice or yours? Without knowing him or the situation, would suggest you may be doing your daughter a disservice by depriving her of a father.

[Fr_Chuck]

Custody is granted though the court, so the court order granting you custody is what will be needed.

[talaniman]

Agree with the others, you need a signed order from a judge. He may be paying child support, but unless that is court ordered it's voluntary. No I don't think a judge will grant you full custody without hearing from the father.

[teacherjenn4]

For schools, they will require a court order showing custody. It will be kept on file in case the non custodial parent tries to pick up the child from school. I'm speaking about California, but I'm pretty certain each state would ask for a legal document filed and entered into court records.

[kcomissiong]

You have received very good legal advice, and it is a great idea to formalize your custody arrangement with the court system. TeacherJenn is correct that if you ever want to stop the father from picking the child up from school, you do need a custody order showing that he cannot.

***Non Legal Advice Below***

In reality however, with the father not on the birth certificate it is pretty unlikely that you would run into trouble registering your child for school, or even obtaining a passport. (I've done both for my daughter with no issues) Your child's school won't allow someone not on the birth certificate to pick up your child unless it has been cleared by you. Honestly, there are simply too many single parents and birth certificates with a mom's name only to put people through hoops every time they need to do something for the child.

[cdad]

If you intend on leaving the country you will need the fathers permission. If you dont have it then the child can not leave the country. You really need to sort things out now before issues pop up.