Legal Question in Family Law in North Carolina
I have a 2 month old child. Her father and I were never married. He lives in Florida I live in NC and the baby was born in NC. The father is not on the birth certificate and wants to take the baby back to Florida for two months. I want full physical and legal custody do I have to let him take her away from me? He also uses drugs and alcohol. Can I ask for a clean drug test before he sees the baby?
1 Answer from Attorneys
Absent a court order, the father has no rights to take the child. If alcohol or drug use is a concern, I do not know if you can condition visitation on drug tests. You may be able to get supervised visitation though written into the court order.
If I were you, I would not let the father take the child out of state absent an order. If the child goes with the father and is in Florida for 6 months or more, then NC will lose jurisdiction to enter custody orders in the future. I suggest that you not try to do this yourself and that you seek out a family law attorney.