Father Wants Custody Of His Infant Daughter in Louisiana

[stoney1495]

I am a 19 year old father of a 5 month old little girl (Elizabeth) and haven't seen her in 2 weeks because her mother and i are fighting and now she refuses to let me see my daughter. There are so many reasons I should get sole custody but i know how hard it is for a father to do so. She is using and keeping drugs in the house with the baby, has guys and girls (she is bi)coming and going, hardly ever takes care of her on her own, and never lets me see her. she is doing everything she can to keep my name off of the birth certificate. she is about to move to TX just to keep me away from Elizabeth. she called just the other day saying that my daughter will never know me as long as she has anything to do with it and will be calling one of the guys she cheated on me with a few times while we were engaged daddy. i just don't want my daughter to grow up with a druggy whore of a mother and never know me. and here are a few things you should know about me that could possibly be held against me.

-when i was 15 i was put in brentwood (mental institution). i was homicidal and suicidal, but it was a side-effect from some medication i was on.

-brentwood again just recently but i put myself in because i was having suicidal thoughts because Candice was just threatening me all the time with my daughter and i was also in the marines and about to be shipped to iraq...just a stressful time in my life

-last used drugs (weed) about 2 months ago but other than that quit when elizabeth was born.

-lives in 3 bedroom trailor with 5 other people



and this is what i got against her, i just dont know what could actually be used in court in my favor

-uses drugs (ecstacy, weed, pain pills)

-smokes in house around elizabeth

-refuses to let me see elizabeth

-keyed my car and put roaches in it incase police ever checked it out to get me in trouble

-ALWAYS leaves elizabeth with her family who is usually high on something

-lives in 2 bedroom apartment with 6 people (including her and child)

-cheated on me while i was at bootcamp and SOI with 2 diffirent people just days after we get engaged and this is after she KNOWS she is pregnant with my child

i hope you all understand why i want custody of my daughter by now, thats why im trying to put as much info on here as i can come up with right now.

and i guess thats about it. i'm sorry this was such a long post but i would REALLY appreciate any helpful feedback. THANX!!!

[stoney1495]

and one more thing...is there anything she can do that can keep me from getting custody or seeing my daughter?

[aaron]

Is there presently a custody order? What is your history of living with this child as a caregiver?

[Dad2]

Good news, you are entitled to see your daughter.
Bad news, you will not get sole custody of your daughter, with your current living situation.
1st thing to do, is get a lawyer. If you can't afford one, beg borrow and steal to get one. ( ok, don't steal, but you know what I'm getting at).
Call the child mother, and tell her you will back off. This hopefully, will put her at ease, and stop her from moving.
Now,
If you can't get a lawyer, goto the courthouse, and file for an emergency injunction to keep her from taking the girl out of state.
Do you pay child support? If not, you will be soon.
Get a court date, and show up. You will most likely be appointed a mediator. You say your piece, she says hers, and a decision is made in the BEST INTEREST OF THE CHILD.
Be prepared to d the following...
Pay child support.
Get a psych eval from a court appointed physician.
Take a paternity test.
If you/and your childs mother presents a danger to the child, get ready for the state to step in.
If a Dr. finds you in a sound mental state, and it's proven you are the father, you will have every right to see your baby on a regular, scheduled basis..
Being 19 and a father, isn't easy. The fact that you are here, looking to do what's best for your child really says something about your character.
Now it's time to step it up a notch. Get a good paying job, maybe move out of the overcrowded trailer?
And remember, sole custody is child abuse.
Good luck
Oh, and all this is based on the fact that you don't have a custody order in place?
Also, you might want to refrain from using names on a public message board

[stoney1495]

there is no custody order, and i have been the the only one really taking care of her both money wise and actually taking care of her. i lived with them for the first 4 months of her life and when i did the mother would refuse to take care of her a lot of times like in the middle of the night for example she would say she isn't taking care of her, and i'm laying her right here next to you and if she keeps crying you HAVE to get up and get her, although i worked up to 1 in the morning and had her the last few times she woke up. i just don't really trust her to take care of her at all with out me there and i dont want her to see a ton of other guys at once and confuse my daughter as to who her real father is.

[stoney1495]

Good news, you are entitled to see your daughter.
Bad news, you will not get sole custody of your daughter, with your current living situation.
1st thing to do, is get a lawyer. If you can't afford one, beg borrow and steal to get one. ( ok, don't steal, but you know what I'm getting at).
Call the child mother, and tell her you will back off. This hopefully, will put her at ease, and stop her from moving.
Now,
If you can't get a lawyer, goto the courthouse, and file for an emergency injunction to keep her from taking the girl out of state.
Do you pay child support? If not, you will be soon.
Get a court date, and show up. You will most likely be appointed a mediator. You say your piece, she says hers, and a decision is made in the BEST INTEREST OF THE CHILD.
Be prepared to d the following...
Pay child support.
Get a psych eval from a court appointed physician.
Take a paternity test.
If you/and your childs mother presents a danger to the child, get ready for the state to step in.
If a Dr. finds you in a sound mental state, and it's proven you are the father, you will have every right to see your baby on a regular, scheduled basis..
Being 19 and a father, isn't easy. The fact that you are here, looking to do what's best for your child really says something about your character.
Now it's time to step it up a notch. Get a good paying job, maybe move out of the overcrowded trailer?
And remember, sole custody is child abuse.
Good luck
Oh, and all this is based on the fact that you don't have a custody order in place?
Also, you might want to refrain from using names on a public message board

thank you. this is all VERY helpful. i have no problem at all paying child support if i at least get to see my baby. i just really miss her and need to see her. and would the fact that her mother is 17 change anything?

[Baystategirl]

thank you. this is all VERY helpful. i have no problem at all paying child support if i at least get to see my baby. i just really miss her and need to see her. and would the fact that her mother is 17 change anything?

What is the EXACT age difference between the two of you??

[aaron]

I suggest you get your act together, get into a suitable living environment for raising a small child, and get help from a lawyer to bring your custody claim. You're likely to be better off living with your parents (if that's possible) than in a trailer full of people. It will be difficult enough to try to prevail in a custody case against a mother who is likely to claim that she was the primary caregiver when you were together, and who will have been the undisputed primary caregiver (even if by virtue of the dubious choice of excluding you from access to your daughter) for quite some time before you get this before a judge.

Has paternity been resolved, such that you are on the child's birth certificate as her legal father?

Baystategirl seems to be intimating at an "age of consent" issue that may be raised in a custody case.

[Baystategirl]

Baystategirl seems to be intimating at an "age of consent" issue that may be raised in a custody case.

Yes..I am.

Misdemeanor carnal knowledge of a juvenile is sexual intercourse with consent between someone age 17 to 19 and someone age 15 to 17 when the difference in their ages is greater than two years.

And that would be two years to the day.

[stoney1495]

What is the EXACT age difference between the two of you??

1 year and 3 months