Legal Question in Family Law in New Jersey

Re: Joint Custody For The Un-Married Father

The parents of the child start out on equal footing before the Court. Where there is no agreement as to any issue involving the child, the Court is called upon, when one of the parties asks, to make a determination, which is based on the "best interest of the child." The Court, if necessary, would take testimony, after reviewing any pertinent documents, including income information of both parties, and then make up a parenting plan. Court Rules now require mediation before a hearing. Many time, the mediator is successful in working out a mutually agreeable parenting plan without the need for a Court hearing. This does get complicated. Accordingly, you need to seek the advice of an attorney. Keep in mind that this advice is based purely on the little bit of information that you have given to me. There may be other factors that would change my opinion. Further, no one can rely on advice from an attorney who has not been retained. Since it appears that you have not retained an attorney, before you take any further action, you should contact an attorney (either me or someone else) to discuss your matter in more detail. Only then will you be able to rely on the advice. I will be happy to assist you. However, you need to call me at 856-546-8010. If you mention LawGuru, there will be no fee for the first one hour consultation. Good luck! Rob Gleaner

Re: Joint Custody For The Un-Married Father

Become involved in the pregnancy. Go to doctor's visits with her. Plan on being in the delivery room. Be an integral part of naming the child. In other words, don't isolate yourself now and expect a court to later bring you into the picture. As far as proceedings, you cannot begin any type of proceeding with regard to the child in this case until it is born. Thereafter, the Court doors will be open to you if necessary.

Talk with the mother and see if you two can work out parenting arrangements. If you can, great. If not try mediation. If that doesn't work and you are sufficiently dissatisfied wtih whatever she'll agree to, you should consider filing a custody/parenting time action. Just so you are aware, such actions are usually very emotional and can, if you retain experienced counsel, be more than a little expensive. Good luck.