Legal Question in Family Law in Alabama

The biological father of my daughter is interested in filing a petition for visitation. She has not seen him in over 4 years. He lives in NYC and we live in Alabama. I know that he would have to file here in the county we live in, but what are the next steps and how long does it take? Do I have a say so in what holidays are granted or how often he gets to see her? Does this cost us anything to go to court or does he have to pay for it? If he were to file next month, would he get visitation by Thanksgiving or Christmas of this year. Any help would be greatly appreciated.


Asked on 8/27/10, 9:18 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys
Mari Morrison Mari Morrison

You do not mention whether you were married to the father or not. If you were not married and he failed to file a petition for paternity or you did not go after child support, he has no rights. And, if you are married now, you can file in Probate Court to have the child adopted by your husband on the grounds of abandonment, perhaps failure to register with the putative father's registry, etc. If he files and there is no paternity determined, paternity would have to be determined first before he gets visitation. His visitation would more than likely be supervised since he has not established a relationship with the child.

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Answered on 9/02/10, 6:11 pm


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