Dead beat dad...How should i handle this???

Question

I don't know what the laws are in mississippi on this kinda stuff. I have three children by a man that i was never married to. we have been seperated for 3 years and i made hem pay child suport through the state, he is now 900.00's behind. He has not seen the kids in over a month and don't want to. He wan'ts to sign over his parental rights, but i want let hem because he want have to pay child suport then. Ive heared that if we didnt go through a custody hearing that we both have custody. I think he is on drugs cause he is acting so strange and his girlfriend has been known to do them. i don't want hem to have anything to do with them for there safety, But will he still have to pay child suport? Can he sign over his parental rights with out me agreeing to it? should i get a restaining order against hem for the kids safety? any advice would be greatly appritiated! Thank you all so much for reading this!

Answer 1

i am from ohio so i don't know your laws.  i understand it must be hard to be a single mom.  i am sure you could get help from the state.  for everyone's benefit, i would let him sign over his rights and never let him come back.  if not, he could use the kids against you later on.  he is 900.00 behind on 3 kids, my ex is over 5,000.00 behind on 1 kid.  i would however consult a lawyer.  call around and see if there is one you can talk to without paying anything.  hope it helped.

Answer 2

Im sorry I can't answer your first questions ...

but definitely get a restraining order!!

Answer 3

Don't know the Mississippi laws are but I do know in MT you can't just sign over your rights. Most states are two parent states. You need to get a parenting plan that gives you primary custody with his visitations spelt out in it. My best friends ex was heavy into drugs and alcohol and her parenting plan states that he has to pay child support for all three of thier kids regardless if he sees them and in order to see them he has to have supervised visits and go through drug and alcohol rehab and at any time he may be subjected to a p**s test. You might try something like that. He would still be legally obligated to support them and you wouldn't have to let him or his gf take them. Good Luck!

Answer 4

In PA, if he signs over parental rights, then he owes you what is due and no more.  I will say that for their own safety, get the restraining order and let him sign the papers - you are better off with out him being in their lives and will have absolutely have no contact or rights to them whatsoever.

Answer 5

Wow really sorry about the situation but get a restraining order to keep your children safe that would be one of the best things to do.

Answer 6

first off, id find out where he works, and let the local courthouse know so they can automatically withdrawl it from his check. that will prevent him from getting further behind, and they will also take extra to pay for what he's behind already. as far as him signing over rights, no, he cant just sign them off. its alot more complicated than people realize. he cant just say he doesnt want to be responsible anymore and go away. there has to be someone willing to sign for and take over responsibility for him. technically,yes, until the court orders otherwise, you are both custodians to the kids. unless and until he does sign over rights, you will probably both always have joint custody, but one of you (probably you) will have primary physical custody, which means the kids stay with you mostly and only go with him to visit. if he doesnt have anything in writing about visitation, you dont have to let him see them. keep them away if its what you think is best. let him take you to court for visitation, and explain to the judge that you believe hes on drugs and that you dont feel your kids would be safe in his care. then they'd order supervised visitation, where youd meet him somewhere so he could see them, but either you or a court appointed person would stick around to make sure they're safe and taken care of. unless hes pushing seeing them, which youve indicated he isnt, i wouldnt get a restraining order. i dont see why one is necessary if he doesnt want to see them and isnt harassing you about visiting them. good luck with everything.

Answer 7

you should most likely get a restraining order against him.

im not sure about the whole parental rights thing, but if he does sign over, than he is not due to pay any child support.

sorry if that does not help much.,

Answer 8

First of all, if your kids live with you and he paid child support, it's assumed that you are the custodial parent. By agreeing to pay child support and letting the children live primarily with you, he was basically acknowledging that you have custody. I'm pretty sure that's basically the same in any state. If you go to court and he doesn't want anything to do with the kids, it will most likely be ordered that you have sole custody but he will STILL have to pay child support. Just because someone doesn't want to be a parent does not mean that they aren't still financially responsible. If you take him to court, you should be appointed an attorney at no cost to you. They will also order him to pay the back support and it can be arranged that it's taken directly out of his paycheck. Unfortunately, I think the only thing that you can do is go to court. Call your department of social services and they can direct you further. Good luck!