[n2oron]

My daughter had a child 3 weeks ago out of wed lock , the father insists on taking the baby , my daughter and him are not a couple , I believe the child belongs with its mother for a certain period , my daughter is 19yo the father 22 , not working , a member of the national guard , not mature in my opinion , I am afraid he believes the baby is a possession , the father was raised by his mother , broken home , its to the point I need to know the legalities of a mothers right to be with her child over the fathers when there is know relationship between the two... tks ron

[stevetcg]

They both have equal rights to the child. I would recommend that your daughter goes to court and establishes paternity and support and a fixed visitation schedule.

Your belief in the fitness of the father is irrelavent, Im sorry to say. The father has the same rights as the mother does.

[n2oron]

Will the fact that the father has had drug arrests and has a record under his belt along with drug abuse counceling ordered by the national guard effect anything ? My soal concern here is the safety and well being of the innocent new born , not who has what rights , it's a shame because of these rights , something bad has to happen 1st before anything gets fixed, prior to this the father wouldn't even change a diaper , now out of spite he's using the child to punish my daugther , as a father this guy has no job but 140 a month from the ng , my health ins. Covers my daughter , the baby medicaid till my daughter goes back to work , the guy is flat broke , the little he does make , he smokes , so the 1st coarse of action is to contact a lawyer ? Wonder how long it takes and what might happen in the interim?

[stevetcg]

A lawyer is not necessary. Your daughter just goes into the court and files for custody.

The good news: depending on your local laws, the man not be the baby's legal father and therefor would have NO rights until paternity were established. This is going to hinge on the birth certificate and if he signed an acknolegement of paternity. If he has not, first, I would deny him access to the baby.

I would HIGHLY recommend calling a local family law attorney TODAY and find out the full situation. He might not have any rights at all right now and therefor would have to go to court and submit to DNA testing to establish paternity before he is even allowed to touch the child. Your daughter will also be able to voice her concerns with visitation and his drug abuse at that hearing.

Sorry to ramble... the laws differ from area to area so a local specialist is your best source at this point.