[ron2big]

8 years ago my live in girlfriend of 2 months got pregnant. this was a surprise but i was happy about this she was rumored of having an affair with her ex when i confronted her she refused to answer and as i was going to work we decided to continue conversation later upon returning home i discovered she was gone and never did she try and call me she refused to return calls she moved in with her ex later i ran into her at the bar she said this is not your baby she married her ex immediately a month or so later her husband tried to shoot me missed and shot a friend (grazed) a friends shoulder.there was a trial after trial i moved out of state my sister who did have some contact with my ex said the ex told her the baby was her husband s and he was on birth certificate the child was a JR. sentecing came the man was given 5 years in prison i went on eith my life was never asked for support or contacted she could of contacted my family i beleived i wasnt the father at this point i later moved back to that town remarried and had 2 children my mother picked my children up from school and saw a child who she said had to be my exs because he was the spitting image of me she was insistent so we investigated public records and found that while my exs husband was in prison he filed divorce and asked to exonerated of all obligation of suppoirt to the child that he was not the biological father his request was granted the child was an infant at that time we then discovered she had requested name change stating the real father wasnt involved in childs life and changed the childs last name to her live in boyfriend upon looking at these records we disocvered the live in has a nasty record of dealing and making meth went to prison is sucicdal hes been in many instituins andthe big shocker is when the child was 4 the child was witness to an attemted murder that the live in was charged with accserory to he hid the gun and was present the mother was not there in addition we found papers in which the mother filed a pfa because the live in held her down with a knife to her throat and injured her she requred no medical care scratches hes probation was revoked after he got back out he moved back in we made contact mother refuse to talk but live in has she now admits i am the father but that she wants me out of picture we have sent letters against moms wishes live in contacts us sends picture and allows me 1 time to talk to child i am now disabled with a severe visual impairment money is tight legal services will help with a 500 dollar fee to be paid up front we will have to make installments to them first i want visists and possibly more as im very worried about this childs envoirment

[Anonymous]

You don't indicate what this "$500 fee" is for - paternity testing? It is good that legal aid will assist with the fee and to accept installment payments, but it is unlikely that they have the resources to absorb the entire fee. Perhaps you have a friend or relative who can assist you with the balance of the fee, so you can proceed with your case more expeditiously.

[ron2big]

the 500 is a reduced fee for the entire case which would orginally cost 1500 and family will help with half of this my question is is there a chance i could be denied visistation because of the childs age what are my chancec of going in and getting full visitation rights or possibly more and is there a way i czan establish paternity sooner or get emergency visitaton rights before court for this (childs safety in question) mother could possibly flee thank you in advance

[Anonymous]

You are unlikely to be awarded any parenting time before you establish paternity - after all, the purpose of establishing paternity is to qualify you to receive parenting time. You may be able to get an order in place once you commence your action, such that the child's domicile cannot be changed without court permission. You should discuss your chances of success, the the terms of any likely parenting time order, with your lawyer.

[ron2big]

Is there a time limit for a father to establish paternity? I also found out that the fact that 7 years have passed severly hurts me. Will the fact that i failed to request to establish paternity have an outcome on whether mom can claim abadonment. (even though she said to me and family i was'nt father). She also fled and could not be located.

[Anonymous]

You should be able to petition for paternity of a minor child, provided there is not a legal impediment under the laws of the state at issue. (For example, for public policy reasons, states commonly forbid a third party to seek a paternity order in relation to a child who was born within a marriage which is still intact.)

It is very difficult for somebody to claim abandonment after a paternity petition is filed, as the paternity petition evidences a desire to be involved in the child's life. However, any voluntary delay in establishing contact is likely to be weighed by the court in its review of how much parenting time to award.