Paternal rights for a father who leaves during the pregnancy?

Question

If the father of an unborn child leaves the women while she is pregnant, is this considered abandonment and will/can he be given partial custody if he changes his mind later on? Any advice from someone who has been in a similar situation would be great. Thanks.

Answer 1

i would go and file for child support now and tell them he abandoned you and your unborn child so they have it on record

Answer 2

i understand where ur coming from. i pregnant and the father of my unborn child abandoned me. so i kinda have the same problem as you. except im way younger. i really think we shouldnt abandon the father from the child because every child needs both parents regardless if their together or not. we need the support and help for the child. you can IM me on aim if you want  ;; dhasw33t3sthin

Answer 3

Sorry but it doesn't mean abandonment. He chose to no longer stay with you, doesn't mean he also chose to not be in his child's life. He will still have rights to his child and unless you can prove he is a danger to him/her, he will have a shot at getting joint custody.

Answer 4

thats horrible that the baby's daddy would just up and leave like that he obviously has no intrest in his child don't give him the rights  

Answer 5

A father always has the right to visitation and joint or shared custody. Those two things can get confusing though so let me explain my situation a little.

My son's dad and I broke up while I was pregnant. I went through the court system after my son was born, and we were given joint/shared custody of our son, but with me as the primary custodian. Meaning, he lives with me.

Visitation.. he was given visitation. However, due to his lack of interest in our son (He never responded to anything through the court system and for a few other key issues) he was only given supervised visitation, to be determined by the people appointed as supervisors (my mom and stepdad). So it's up to them when he sees our son, and for how long.

So it really depends. But yes, a father has the right to visitation even if he "abandons" the mother or child. But the amount and type of the visiation would be determined by a judge based upon your testimony and his testimony.

My advice is this.. once baby is born.. get the wheels moving in the court system. Document every single time the father calls or asks to see the child. NEVER DENY VISITATION TO A FATHER!!! This will only make the mother look bad in court, and could actually cause the father to gain more visitation, or extra visitation to make up for the time that he was denied.

And also - family law varies from state to state, so I would suggest speaking with an attorney. Most states have programs set up for just this ocassion where you can get an attorney for no charge, or for just a minimum fee. (In Florida - it's Heart of Florida Legal Aid Society)

Answer 6

Unless he takes a paternity test that proves he is the father or he signs the birth certificate, I don't think he has any rights. Just don't put him on the birth certificate.  

Answer 7

I cannot say that  I am completley sure... But my advice to you is to contact a lawyer asap... So that later on in life he doesn't come into it and say he wants custody of this child that he left... You really need to take care of this now.

Answer 8

The only way a court would deny any kind of visitation rights if he signed over his parental rights on the child.  Even if he left and didn't come back until your child was five years old, but stated that he wanted a relationship with him/her, the court would grant him visitation rights at least.  Him leaving during the pregnancy does not constitute abandonment, and yes, he could be given partial custody.  If you have fears that he will bring the child out of state, you can bring it up with the judge.  I know it's hard, I wish the answer was different, but the courts won't deny a father a relationship with his child.  

Answer 9

file for child support  

Answer 10

I'm pregnant and living in a different state from my ex and have the same fears.  What I've learned so far, is that if I leave him off the birth certificate, he will have to file a suit for paternity, then another for custody if he's proven to be the father...  He would have to prove that you are an unfit mother, which is nearly impossible in most cases, the mother always gets custody.  The problem is, he gets joint custody, you will have to meet in the middle...  And that is what scares me the most, sending my baby off to be with this man...going to who knows where.  So what I'm going to do, is see if I can make a deal with him, no birth certificate with his name on it, no child support, and he will not try to get custody...  

Mine has no interest in my pregnancy either and wont even talk to me most of the time.  I feel as if the baby is mine...  It's a really crappy situation and I feel for you, and hope it works out for both of us, the way we want.