Legal Question in Family Law in New Jersey
fight for custody,last name, and supervised visits
I am currently 8mo pregnant and will soon be going into labor due to some complications. The father of my son is married which I was not aware of till after I told him I was pregnant. He has previously denied being the father but know wants to fight for custody and his last name. His wife threatened me and said she would hurt my son whenever the father wasn't around and that she would make me regret having the baby. Am I automatically granted full custody since we are not married? Can my son have my last name? can I be granted supervised visits and how old does my son have to be if the court will allow him to take him on weekends?
5 Answers from Attorneys
Re: fight for custody,last name, and supervised visits
You have a lot of issues here. I suggest you sit down with an attorney to work them all out.
Either of you can fight for custody. Without a court order, there is nothing to enforce, so I suggest you work this out sooner rather than later.
Re: fight for custody,last name, and supervised visits
You can get what you want in terms of limiting visitation until the child is at least a year old and imposing conditions designed to protect the child against the father's wife. You will have primary residential custody. No judge will take a newborn child from its mother and afterwards this situation as to custody will not change.
I believe that at the hospital will give the child your last name since you are not married to the father.
Call me if you like.
Gary Moore, Esquire
Hackensack, New Jersey
www.garymooreattorneyatlaw.com
Re: fight for custody,last name, and supervised visits
You may wish to file for paternity, support and when you get support you will be named the PPR or parent of primary residence. There is still the tender years doctrine that holds that the custody be with Mom unless there is unfitness. It is inconsistent to say that he is not the father but wants custody. Sounds like poppycock. How did you learn that the wife would harm the child? Generally the custodial parent can give the child her family name and I believe that was the ruling of the NJ Supreme Court. Go to the county courthouse where you reside and file for paternity and so on as I said. If you had intercourse in NJ the courts here will have jurisdiction. Don't let him play that game. You should benefit from talking to an attorney. The DNA test is by a cotton swab in the cheek now and there is a high degree of probability of paternity if the child has the paternal obligatory genes.
Re: fight for custody,last name, and supervised visits
You may wish to file for paternity, support and when you get support you will be named the PPR or parent of primary residence. There is still the tender years doctrine that holds that the custody be with Mom unless there is unfitness. It is inconsistent to say that he is not the father but wants custody. Sounds like poppycock. How did you learn that the wife would harm the child? Generally the custodial parent can give the child her family name and I believe that was the ruling of the NJ Supreme Court. Go to the county courthouse where you reside and file for paternity and so on as I said. If you had intercourse in NJ the courts here will have jurisdiction. Don't let him play that game. You should benefit from talking to an attorney. The DNA test is by a cotton swab in the cheek now and there is a high degree of probability of paternity if the child has the paternal obligatory genes.
Re: fight for custody,last name, and supervised visits
You may wish to file for paternity, support and when you get support you will be named the PPR or parent of primary residence. There is still the tender years doctrine that holds that the custody be with Mom unless there is unfitness. It is inconsistent to say that he is not the father but wants custody. Sounds like poppycock. How did you learn that the wife would harm the child? Generally the custodial parent can give the child her family name and I believe that was the ruling of the NJ Supreme Court. Go to the county courthouse where you reside and file for paternity and so on as I said. If you had intercourse in NJ the courts here will have jurisdiction. Don't let him play that game. You should benefit from talking to an attorney. The DNA test is by a cotton swab in the cheek now and there is a high degree of probability of paternity if the child has the paternal obligatory genes.