Legal Question in Family Law in California

Re: Custody

The Father has a legal right to visit his child, however, the visitation must be in the best interest of the child. The child should feel that he is in a safe and secure environment and at age three that sound too young for him to travel away from him mother for a long period of time. Either you or the father should petition the court to set a schedule for the father visiting the child so that the child gets to know him as his "Daddy". When he becomes his Daddy, the child may be able to take trips to Florida, but my bet is that will be a few years away and Father has many hoops to jump through to become the Daddy. Can he get custody? Anything is possible, but seems very, very, very unlikely. If he really wanted to be the Daddy, he wouldn't have left, right. Do the best that you can to try and foster a relationship with the Father, it is in the child's best interest and your son does need a Daddy. Does your son know his Father enough to talk on the phone with him? I think a meeting with a court mediation counselor would be beneficial to all three of you. Tell him to get his attorney and set up the meeting and court date. Don't be surprised that he doesn't follow through. Good Luck, Pat McCrary