Legal Question in Family Law in Maryland

Re: custody situation

I'm assuming that you and the father have never been to court to establish custody, or for that matter, his paternity of the child. Therefore, there is nothing legally preventing you from doing what you are planning. However, if you want the father to continue to support the child, or if he wants a continuing relationship with the child, it would be advisable to see if he is willing to sign an agreement acknowledging his paternity and agreeing to pay you child support. In return, you would agree to allow him reasonable visitation. If he's unwilling to do this, you can file court papers asking to have him declared to be the father, awarding you sole custody and ordering him to pay monthly child support. This amount would be taken directly from his paycheck if he's employed. You would be wise to retain an experienced family attorney to either draft the agreement or file the necessary court papers as the case may be.

If you were married, the only difference would be he would already be the father in the eyes of the law and you wouldn't have to establish that in court in order to get child support.