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addiemay05 · Apr 23, 2009, 10:04 AM

My baby's father has taken me to court for an unborn child he used a petition for paternity I told him I was moving to Kentucky for a short while and he went of and filed that petition and I have 3 months before the baby is born. He wants to get a restraining order on me so I can't leave the state of Tennessee He is also fighting for Joint custody... Can he get Joint Custody if I'm totally against it and we were only together 2 months and he is already getting married to a girl who has failed 2 federal Drug tests through the military? Please help me out on this cause I really don't think he can but I need reassuring I'm already a high risk pregnancy and he just keeps doing things that stress me out..

ScottGem · Apr 23, 2009, 10:08 AM

Sorry, but assuming he is the father, he almost certainly can get joint legal custody. This means he can get visitation and have an equal say in how the child is raised. Its unlikley however, that he can get joint physical custody, at least not until the child is weaned. And, once the child start school, he would need to live in the same school district to have joint physical custody.

Nothing can be decided until the baby is born and a paternity test can be performed. But you could be restrained from leaving the state or required to return to Tenn in time to give birth.

cadillac59 · Apr 24, 2009, 06:35 PM

Originally Posted by ScottGem

Sorry, but assuming he is the father, he almost certainly can get joint legal custody. This means he can get visitation and have an equal say in how the child is raised. Its unlikley however, that he can get joint physical custody, at least not until the child is weaned. And, once the child start school, he would need to live in the same school district to have joint physical custody.

Nothing can be decided until the baby is born and a paternity test can be performed. But you could be restrained from leaving the state or required to return to Tenn in time to give birth.

I cannot say I totally disagree (except that in my state you can get a decision on custody pre-birth that will apply upon the birth of the child) and I think the OP raised a very interesting question, one I've thought about regarding the threads where people have asked about pre-birth custody orders. The question is, can a pregnant mom be ordered to stay in a particular jurisdiction and give birth there? I frankly don't see how a court has jurisdiction to order that. There's technically no UCCJEA jurisdiction over an unborn child (not as far as I can tell) so without that I have very serious doubts about how any court can order a pregnant mom to live or stay anywhere, not unless she has committed some crime.

pathisfer · Apr 24, 2009, 06:41 PM

Yes, he will probably get joint custody if he takes you to court and can also place a domicile restriction on you so you can't leave the state. He's the father and he is probably going to be granted equal rights whether you agree with it or not.

cadillac59 · Apr 24, 2009, 06:59 PM

Originally Posted by pathisfer

Yes, he will probably get joint custody if he takes you to court and can also place a domicile restriction on you so you can't leave the state. He's the father and he is probably going to be granted equal rights whether you agree with it or not.

Again, and as I said above, I cannot see how a court can constitutionally place a "domicile restriction" or otherwise prevent a pregnant woman from leaving the state simply because she's pregnant. That sounds to me like the state going way to far in interfering with the woman's choices regarding her pregnancy. If she cannot be constitutionally enjoined from electing an abortion, how in the world can the state say she can't even leave the state while pregnant?

If there is any case law on this specific question, I'd be really interested in hearing it.

pathisfer · Apr 24, 2009, 07:08 PM

I totally agree with you and I think it's wrong. Don't you have a lawyer? If not, I would get one. My friend was never married to the father and he took her to court and got joint custody, a domicile restriction, and he even got educational jurisdiction. She is stuck living in the same state as him and her family lives elsewhere.
I think the first step in all this is serving you papers that establish paternity and I don't think you have to respond to them until after the baby is born. It sounds like he is really on the offensive.