[mikemasters]

Understand, I do not want to give up my rights to the child, I already told the child that whether DNA prooves she is mine or not, I will still act as her father if she wishes it, But the mother constantly moves without notice, and can be gone for months or years at a time and it has been mentally and emotionally tearing me and the child apart inside. I want her in my life and the child wants me in her life but the mother seems to not care what either of us want, and only comes around when she feels like hasseling me about never being there for the child. I can't take the psychotic behavior of the mother and watch what it has been doing to the child. And because paternity is only being established now, and I have no past quality time spent with the child, due to the mothers behavior, I'm told it will be hard to get custody unless the mother is prooven Unfit. So my only other option, if it came to it, is to sign my rights away and tell the child she can still call me anytime or see me after she turns 18 if she wishes and hope for the best. But I also feel that the mother will do whatever she can to stop me from giving up my rights so she can get support from me and still keep me from being a part of her life. What are my options?

[Fr_Chuck]

Please check out the sticky, on the Family Law section, you will note this has been asked a 1000 times for various reasons.

Basically you just can't "GIVE UP YOUR RIGHTS" you don't have to ask for any, you can not be forced to visit, you can not be forced to see the child, So you don't have to file for visits.

You do or can be forced to pay child support, and even if ( which they won't) the courts would allow you to give up your rights, you would still have to pay child support anyway.

The only way you would not pay support is for her to remarry and that man ask to adopt the kids.

You can file for visits, you can get a court order that she has to let you know where she is, that she can not move out of state and so on.


But again, you can't give up your rights, but you certainly can't give them up if she would not agree.

[mikemasters]

Ok what about me getting custody? With the mothers behavior being somewhat unstable, and she's a reported thief, and because of the constant moving the child is 11 and only in 4th grade due to untreated ADD. Doesn't that make her somewhat unfit?

[Fr_Chuck]

It may be a battle, will need a lot of documents from school, most likely interviews with couselors, but you can try.

[mikemasters]

Thank you. It sucks when there's dads out there that don't give a damn and the ones that do care are tossed aside and ignored.