Legal Question in Family Law in Illinois

I have a question about my son. I have a 22 month old son who has always been in my care, he has my last name and there is no father on the birth certificate. I have never gotten a paternity test and have never filed for child support so there is nothing saying who my son's father is on any type of legal document. His father has had minimum interaction with him and will go two or three months without seeing him or asking about him and most times when he does try to contact me about or son he is verbally abusive towards me. He has recently threatened to take me to court and take my son away from me because I moved myself and my son to a different town with my fiance. My question is could he really get custody of my son because of this? Also, I was wondering in the state of Illinois how long without contact with your child is considered abantonment? Is there any way I could get his rights terminated all together on grounds of abandonment?


Asked on 3/03/13, 10:43 am

1 Answer from Attorneys
Sue Roberts-Kurpis, Esq. Law Office of Sue Roberts-Kurpis

Father is unlikely to get custody under these circumstances. OTOH, you can't terminate his parental rights even though he is not on the birth certificate. He can't stop you from moving anywhere in Illinois but if you move out of state w/o court permission, he can drag you back. If you are certain that this man is the father of your child, you are better off to legally establish that and get child support from him.

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Answered on 3/03/13, 2:23 pm


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