Legal Question in Family Law in New York

Re: custody

Two important issues come to mind:

(1) what is the status of your fiance _vis_a_vis_ the child - - is he the father by virtue of a marriage or has he acknowledged paternity or been determined to be the father in court?

(2) how much 'scrutiny' can you & your fiance stand?

He can go to Family Court & file a petition for custody - - if he hasn't already been determined to be the father, he will have to include a petition seeking a determination of paternity.

If he recites the allegations that you mention, there is an excellent chance that the Family Court will order the local Dept. of Soc. Services to do an investigation. In the midst of that investigation, "the other side" will probably make every conceivable {not the same as 'true'} allegation about your fiance and you.

Thereupon, the child protective investigators will also investigate your fiance and you.

If your finance and you are "squeaky clean" and not put off by having the child protective types poking around in your lives - - AND - IF the allegations against the mother are true, then there's a reasonable chance that the court might consider granting custody.

Good luck.

Regards, etc.,

J. M. Hayes

>>--> The foregoing amounts to musings and observations based on some years familiarity with the 'day-to-day' operation of the law with regard to the issues involved In The Most General sense; my remarks should not be thought of as "legal advice and counsel" in the formal sense of that phrase, since there is, in fact, no 'attorney / client' relationship existing between us. <-<<

Re: custody

The previous Reply was excellent.

I would just add that the standard used by the court in awarding custody is: What is in the best interests of the child?

Therefore, you should also focus on all the reasons why the child would be better off living with you and your future husband. [If you were already married, so much the better.]

Your plans for Child care, schooling, etc., should also be developed.

Re: custody

Your fiance needs to go to family court and fill out a petition for custody.

If the mother also uses drugs, he should make a confidential report to Child Protective Services. Drug use is one of the grounds to have a neglect case brought against someone.