[AmeliaVigil]

My boyfriend of ten years has two daughters from a previous woman.She does not have him for child support. For the past ten years we did what she asked and gave the kids what they needed. The girls are 14 and 12 now and she now wants to keep them away. We would only see them on the weekends and when she decides what other days. So basically the ball was in her court all this time. How do we go about getting visitation and or joint custody? Please help.

[kcomissiong]

We don't do anything. You do not have a legal standing here, but you can continue to be supportive and do research that will help. You being overly involved can hurt him in court, so please keep in mind that it is his fight. He can petition the court for joint custody and ask that a visitation schedule be established. Its not necessary to have an attorney, but if she has one, he needs to have one also. With a custody and visitation order in place, he has legal recourse if she violates by keeping the children from him. Until then, she calls all of the shots. She will likely counter with a request for child support.