Ask a Lawyer - Archive

I need some advise on child custody. My ex-boyrfriend and I had a child together, and he left me after she was a week old. While we were together I was under the impression he was going to get a divorce and we were going to be married. This is his second child and his reason for leaving me was I didn't treat him good enough, which is fine, but he is now interested in being with an old friend of mine and our child is only a month old. I am worried he is to bouncy when it comes to people and want to have full sole custody of my daughter. I am not clear to work because of my c-section til the second week of August. Since I live with my parents and they are more able than her father and I, would it be best if my father filed for custody instead of me?

That's up to you, of course, but in general, I don't advise parents to give up custody of their children as a protective measure. Things apparently are okay with your parents now, but that could change. The biggest mistake I see parents making with custody, over and over, is to give up custody thinking it's "temporary," only to realize later that courts don't speak temporary when it comes to child custody. You're talking about permanently giving up custody of your child, and frankly, I don't see the justification here. If Dad comes wandering back and wants to take over the parenting role from you, I would think most courts, in the absence of something scary about your parenting, would favor the parent who has consistently cared for the child day in and day out (that's you).