My daughter's father wants custody and i see him as unfit...is there anything i can do?

If he took a dna and has filed for custody you should go ahead file for an attorney and prove that he is unfit with all the evidence that you provided here it he'll probably get supervised visits .i know this only because im trying to adopt my stepdaugter and her father won't sign his rights away. im sorry i couln't help you further. adam lee spencer

You should hire an attorney right away. When I was on the bench, I was always suspicious of fathers (or mothers) that suddenly want custody when they have shown little or no, "parental instinct " in many years. I cannot guess what your court will do int his case, but a local attorney can. Retain one that has significant local family law experience. The father's drug convictions are enough to make the court use strict scrutiny even for visitation. I cannot believe any court , based on your information, would hand over this child to a drug convicted "stranger". But stranger things have happened. He really should have only supervised visitations and a drug test before ver visit and at court. I am all for people being rehabilitated, if they really are. the burden is on them to prove it.

Please Hire an attorney right away, all he wants is child support from you for drugs. You need to request supervised visits for him with your daughter, if that his intentions are to see his daughter and not use her as a bank.

If you're comfortable can you please let me know how the court ruled? I'm going through pretty much the exact same thing right now.

Yes.. Prove him unfit. The bottom line is that courts normally favor the mover in regards to full custody of a child unless the father can prove you as unfit especially if you already have custody. Just make sure that he cannot prove you as unfit and you have all the paperwork or evidence needed to prove him as unfit. Evidence is not just hearsay. Be ready to provide hard evidence and facts. Nevertheless, if he is unable to prove you as unfit, he the court will favor you.

I will tell you what others wont. If his drug charges were true and then they were dropped or dismissed after deferrment, then he may not technically have drug charges-especially if treatment was sought-do you know if treatment was sought or counseling? It does not mean that he did not get in some type of drug trouble if true, but it does mean that for some reason the court may not have seen fit to send him to jail. Did a parent pass on or another circumstance happen? if you go in and refute a courts ruling and sound judgement, you may get in trouble with the court, so be careful. if you are scared, go to counseling to try to adjust. the babies father should get to see the baby, even supervised. Sometimes drugs-if any-are a coping mechanism because of problems that are unhandled. ask the father to go to counseling, and document if he refuses. ask the court to ask for supervised visitation only if their is proven merit for his not having time alone with your daughter. you can cite if true, studies of drug user escallation for the court, custody cases involving parents of drug users, and more. but before you waive that batton of judgment, be careful, because if the father is doing better and you cannot recognize that, the court may say you cannot judge what is best for your child. and of course you cannot give your child to an active drug user. if your child gets more than scratched hurt, make a dcfs report, and a few of those later, with proof only, and your child should be home with you and supervised anway. that is the right way. hope this helps!

Yes, get an attorney. It sounds like there are a *lot* of reasons why he should not be left alone with a two-year old!