Def. ck.with legal aid in your area, need to be legal & know your
rights. Would do it soon, just in case.

He has no rights until a court order gives them to him. He must file for
custody/visitation as you're are automatically the custodial parent. The
only thing signing the acknowledgement of paternity did was open him up
to financial responsibility, not custodial rights. Depending on your
state, there is a time limit in which a putative father can ask for DNA
testing after having signed such papers. I am sure he'll appreciate that
later!

His living with his parents doesn't make him look badly to a court,
please be aware of that. However, his his living states away from you
and the fact that he's not been able to co-parent will certainly impact
a decision. Status quo is also relevant to child custody.

You've nothing to worry about...but to ease your worries contact legal
aid.

Thanks for the advice everyone. I am definatly going to make everything
legal, just in case.

just to be safe, i would petition for full legal and physical
custody....cya, ya know? wouldn't hurt, no sense leaving any loose
ends, that could jump up and bite you at a later date.

here in arkansas...if you aren't married, then the mother has full
custody until contested. he CAN take you to court, establish paternity,
and petition for visitation, etcetera...and they'll set child support
and such at the same time.

if you plan on moving, do it BEFORE he files. once you've actually
moved...they can't tell you not to.

I files for full custody and got it.
then during the final hearing I gave him ample room for being
involved...
I was awarded custody with visitations for him... and he's flaked out.
Last week he didn't show or call after not seeing her since last fall.

If you do not file, you leave room for him to. It's first up filing.

from what it appears...in maryland...

http://www.peoples-law.org/family/Unmarried%20Cohabs/Cohabs%20Children%20-%20WLC.htm

after checking this site and a few other sites...that maryland holds
favoring the mother in custody issues to be discrimination...and even
when not married, the father has equal rights.

my ass would be moving so fast...

Emotional,

Could you explain why she should file first? I am sincerely interested
in your logic.

She already has custody thus rendering the filing of any motions
irrelevant. The only thing she can file for is for child support and I
wouldn't even recommend doing that until after she has met the residency
requirements for the new state. Otherwise she risks drawing him out to
counter-file. He may leave things the way they are if not provoked.

'Tis not her responsibility to file papers determining visitation; it's
his.

she should file to protect her ass since he is already threatening to
take the child plus she should be getting child support for the baby
since that is the childs money.

So, basicly i have full custody unless he makes a claim against it?

Cute,

He can't just take the child; it's called kidnapping. He has no legal
rights until such are declared by CO.

Legal issues are governed by strategy and one must play intelligently.
If she files first, which is illogical given that she is sole legal and
physical custodian, she will intice him to revenge.

Not a smart move in my mind.

here, he would. apparently...it doesn't necessarily work that way where
you are.

"Under Maryland law, unless a court has ordered otherwise, the parents
of a minor child are the child’s “joint natural guardians.”[1] This
means that they are jointly and individually responsible for the child’s
support, care, welfare, and education. After a decree of adoption is
entered, each living natural parent of the individual adopted is
relieved of all parental duties and obligations and the adoptive parents
take on those responsibilities.[2]

If the parents live apart, a court may award custody of a minor child
to either parent or joint custody to both parents. The standard the
court applies in determining custody is the best interest of the child.
Until the court makes a determination, neither parent is presumed to
have any right to custody that is superior to the right of the other
parent.

The decision as to who will have custody of the children can be settled
informally by agreement of the parties. However, the court need not
respect every agreement reached by the parents, and the court may modify
an agreement if the court determines that it is in the child’s best
interest to do so. "

Yes, you are the only parent, in the legal sense, to that child as of
now.

He must take the steps to assert his potential rights by filing the
necessary motions.

I was granted full custody when the ex abandoned us...

I went to womens' crisis and was advised to file first. Court look upon
it more favorably when the parent takes care of things in a timely
manner, and done to the best of thier ability.

It doesn't matter that she has the kids now. If he decides to make
things hard, he can.

Cover your ass, get the child taken care, of, and make it all legal.

here in arkansas, an unwed mother has full legal and physical custody
until paternity and such is established...and the court awards
visitation. i would certainly NEVER be the first to file, here.

maryland seems to be different...and i'd get the hell out. fast.
BEFORE he files.

move to florida and quick.then send a post card....

thanks lady but i was going by the maryland state law that lulu quoted.i
still say move to florida and send a post card.

man, sounds awful!

I just go by the advice I was given here in NH... Of course there was no
paternity involved. Sorry.

If he tried something, could i get him for abandonment? he left the day
we got the eviction notice on our apartment. If his parents hadnt taken
us in, i dont know what we would have done.

. . .[A]fter the putative father legitimates his child according to
statutory provision, or submits to a judicial determination of
paternity, the child's parents stand on an equal footing as regards to
custody.


As to whether plaintiff has taken the necessary steps to legitimate
Kayla, this Court has identified several procedures bywhich a biological
father may legitimate his child: (1) through a verified petition filed
with the superior court seeking to have the child declared legitimate,
(2) by subsequent marriage to the mother, or (3) through a civilaction
to establish paternity filed pursuant to Gen. Stat. § 49-14.