Legal Question in Family Law in Pennsylvania
Who gets custody of a child born to unmarried parents who live apart from each o
I am almost seven months pregnant and my boyfriend and I are still together. However, I live out in Bucks County while he lives out near Pittsburgh. We are planning on living apart for the first couple of months after the baby is born. My boyfriend claims that he has a right to custody, which I totally understand, but he wants to have the baby for two weeks at a time, but I don't know what the courts will say. I am planning on breastfeeding and I don't know if that will have any effect on what the decision may be. I have told him that I would go out to visit him a couple of times (like once a month for a week), so that he can see his son, and that he can come and visit him out here, but that doesn't seem to be good enough. During the pregnancy he has not been too supportive at all, he never comes to visit and he is not prepared to become a parent, that's why I don't think he would be able to get custody...if you could help out at all I would really appreciate it.
1 Answer from Attorneys
Re: Who gets custody of a child born to unmarried parents who live apart from ea
Pennsylvania used to have what was known as the "tender years doctrine". It stood for the principal that, for the first few years of a child's life, a child is better off with his/her mother. While that doctrine was abandoned many years ago, judges are people who use common sense.
I do not think there is any doubt that any court would accept your suggested custody schedule. I assume you lived in Bucks County when you became pregnant, so the father had no expectation that he would be in close proximity to the child. He can move closer and things would change. However, you would undoubtedly have primary physical custody, unless you are unfit. To be unfit, you must have a drug or alcohol problem, have a criminal history or have unsuitable living conditions for a child. Assuming none of those facts exist, my opinion remains the same.
I trust this has been helpful, but feel free to call or E-mail on a free initial basis.
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