[lost4ever]

My brother stopped by his baby's mommy's house to pick up his daughter and for the 2nd week in a row she said no the child can not go with you. He pays child support and get daughter every weekend but it is not in writing. Is there anything he can do? Call the Cops?
I know he has to go to the courts but is there any way to do something now??

[whichwayisup]

He needs a lawyer so everything is down on paper. Obviously a verbal agreement isn't working as his ex isn't playing fair.

Is there a reason why she won't let him have access to his daughter?

[cicada]

you can try the police , i mean just tell them that she refuses to let you see your child and she does not have court ordered custody , at the least it will give her a headache and make her think maybe that her decisions are mistaken . of course get a lawyer right away and dont talk to her anymore once you get a lawyer. let the lawyer deal with everything legally . that way there is nothing she can do or say to prevent you from seeing your child. dont try to work it out like she is your friend. she is out for herself so you need to be too if you want to really see your child.

[Never_Again]

Originally Posted by lost4ever

My brother stopped by his baby's mommy's house to pick up his daughter and for the 2nd week in a row she said no the child can not go with you. He pays child support and get daughter every weekend but it is not in writing. Is there anything he can do? Call the Cops?
I know he has to go to the courts but is there any way to do something now??

Child support and Custody/Visitation matters are both entirely unrelated. Even if he didn't pay child support, he would still have a right to see his daughter.

What the mother is doing is completely illegal, if there is a court order for visitation.

This needs to be taken to court and then the mother will be reprimanded in one of three ways: 1. She will lose custody to him; 2. He will be allowed "make-up" visits; or 3. She can serve jail time.

At least that is how it is in my state, anyway.

(and no, there is nothing he can do right now... he has to take it to court)

[Gwyneth]

I HATE when women play these games. I have heard so many dads cry because their exes wouldn't allow them to see their children. It's usally because She is angry at the father--great, so that's the child's fault too?



He needs a lawyer ASAP who can help him get legal custody of his child.

[hcd03]

Technically, because nothing is written down legally, he really has no visitation rights if the mother chooses to deny him. Since she has physical custody of the child, she is the primary guardian. However, should she keep denying him his rights, when it finally does go to court, that can actually work in his favor, showing that he wants to be an active part of her life and may get him more visitation than he would otherwise. I say MAY because it really does depend on the judge. Through personal experience, I've met some pretty crappy judges. And some pretty good ones.

I would recommend that he keep a written record of every time she denies him visitation and every time she allows it. That way, the judge will have something to look at if they do end up going to court. Again, it could very well work in his favor if they go to court if she keeps denying him his child.

And when everything is finally written down legally, if she still denies him and goes against the court documents, he could easily file contempt against her in court. That looks extremely unfavorably upon her.

[boshemia]

There isn't much he can do now, even if he did call the cops. However, he can file for visititation. Here in my state it's a sheet called "allocation of parental responsibilities."

He fills it out and files it with the court. After it becomes an order of the court if she refuses it is then contempt of court, which carries a possible jail sentence.

We just went through it last summer without an attorney. Child support is totally seperate from visitation, so even if he wasn't paying a dime he still has the right to see his child.

The court really wants to see two adults who are mature and responsible and really just want what is best for the child. According to most states that is a healthy relationship with both mother and father.

So yeah, it takes some time but it is very easy to file for and enforce visitation. If she doesn't get an attorney he doesn't need one. If she does then he should probably get one too. Just tell him to research the laws in his State. If he is representing himself he will need to know them inside and out. He will be expected to know the laws and know what is and is not part of those laws.

PS it helps if he quotes the laws in his paperwork and leave the emotions out of it.

Also, there is a free law advice forum that helped us through our court experiences. IM me and I can send you a link.