Legal Question in Family Law in Mississippi
Single Father Rights
My son had a ''one-night-stand'', she got pregnant, had baby and DNA test and baby is his. All was well with him visiting once or twice a week until she found out he has a girlfriend and is mad and jealous acting childish not wanting girlfriend anywhere around baby, holding the baby over his head saying he won't see her for a long time, etc. They were going to a lawyer to get custody and visitation all legal until she got mad, now she is wanting to go to court. He is on the birth certificate but nothing else so far has been done. If she won't let him see the baby now, what rights does he have? How long will it take once he goes to a lawyer to get visitation and can she deny it until it goes to court? Also, he lives in Louisiana and she lives in Mississippi which is only 28 miles away. Does it matter which state he gets a lawyer in?
2 Answers from Attorneys
Re: Single Father Rights
He needs a MS lawyer b/c that's the home and domicile of the baby. Because he's on the birth certificate as the father, he has paternal rights. He can get into court very quickly and establish his visitation rights. The mom does not have the right to keep him from the baby, but because she's doing that, the judge should grant your son extra visitation to make up for lost time. Get a lawyer who can file the necessary petition asap.
Re: Single Father Rights
He needs to adjust his budget because the court will require him to pay 14% of his adjusted gross income for support which is what he should have been doing all along. He also needs to have his visitation rights established by court order so they are enforceable. Before getting adversarial in court, I would recommend that the parents of both get involved to set up a meeting with family counselor (paid professional or minister) for the children to address their issues and agree on what they can regarding visitation.
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