My son is 2 years old and his biological father (we are unmarried) all of sudden wants to be apart his life...
I have never asked him for child support and he only doing this now because I am getting married (out of jealously), Oh and the random few times he wanted to see him I didn't object.
Does he have to have cause to get a temporary visitation order?
Anyone that has dealt with the Alabama court system, about how long if he files will we go to court for the temporary order? About how long out will the actual custody case be set for? (I have heard 6 months to 2 years but actual cases would be helpful)
Any child custody cases advice would be helpful... remembering we were unmarried and he has never paid child support mostly because I felt bad for him because he can't hold down a steady job, jail on top of that would be worse on my conscience...and I take care of me and my son by myself comfortably so there was no need to add pressure to him.
Thank you for any advice...
Answers & Comments
Verified answer
Well him never paying child support really has nothing to do with it. If there is no order in place then there is no reason why he should have been paying in a legal sense. Morally, sure he should contribute to the upkeep of his child, but you can't try to nail him in a court of law on something that hasn't been ordered. Besides, child support and custody are two entirely separate things. At least they're supposed to be.
As far as getting visitation rights, all he has to do is be declared the legal father and he gets rights. I mean that's as it should be right? Fathers shouldn't have to fight to see their children when mothers get an automatic right. I don't know about the timeline, though. I live in Ohio and it took from Dec to August to get a temporary order in place, but I had to force my ex to submit my daughter to a paternity test so my name could be added to her birth certificate. I would recommend you just sign the paternity affidavit and get your son used to his father instead of pushing everything through court. He's not going to get custody or take your son away from you or anything like that so the sooner you assimilate him into your son's life, the less stress and trauma your son will go through.
It doesn't have to be nasty so honestly it might even be in your best interest to just sit down with him and work out an arrangement that can be filed in court. If he really is a deadbeat who is only interested in being a father to inconvenience you then I'd guess that he'll drop out of the picture for the most part and not even exercise his visitation rights. More power to you, though, if you can say that you always facilitated the father son relationship for your son's sake. Then you at least won't have regrets about that when your son is an adult and wonders why his father is or isn't around.