Legal Question in Family Law in California
i found out i was pregnant and it was an eggtopic pregnancy and my x stated that he wanted me to have an abotrtion when Dr ruled out eggtopic, he later declined that he told me this, now i have requested to assist in medical expenses, he told me he couldnt assist me fianancially recently, i have received a correspondence and wants me to respond with in 30 days, the letter states he wants joint custody, and wants to be there for future medical appt and birth of baby, i dont want him to have joint custody because he resides with his mother and she mistreats her down syndrome little sister, how will i be secure that my baby will be safe? do i have to respond to this corespondence?
1 Answer from Attorneys
It is best for you and your unborn child to work with the father to the extent you can. So keeping an open dialog is better than sticking your head in the sand. You do not have to agree to anything, but you do have to realize that in your situation, once the baby is born your legal rights and obligations as far as child custody and support will be the same as if you and he had been married and got a divorce while you were pregnant. That means he will have the same custody rights as a divorced dad under the same circumstances. With that said, if he is not fit to have custody, and you can show that to the court, he won't get it. He is also not going to get joint physical custody right a birth. The child's age will be a factor in any custody order. The bottom line is that the more you and the father can work things out without getting the courts involved, the better for you and the better for your baby. It would probably be a good idea, though, to get an attorney on board now for consultation as you go through this.