what rights does my daughters father have?

[MacKensieLeigh2]

My daughter's father left me when I was pregnant. His name is not on the birth certificate and she has my last name. She is 18 months and has never met her father. As far as she knows my fiance is her father. He has not paid for a single thing for her nor does he pay child support and I don't want him too. He wants to be able to take her to Kentucky to meet his family and I have said NO so now he is taking me to court. I don't mind giving him supervised visitation but don't want him taking her out of state. My attorney is saying that he has no case but as her mother I am worried. 

I am just trying to do what's best for my daughter and I don't believe this is.

[Polliwog]

A lot is going to depend on where you live. But, if he has a paternity test, then he is likely to get vistitation. Unsupervised unless there is a valid reason against it. And sometimes, even then.

I'm a foster, and foster/adoptive, parent. You may not like it, but she needs to start getting to know her birth father. Your fiance, no matter how wonderful, isn't her legal parent. She has a whole other family she deserves to know about, and spend time with. It's a lot easier to start while she is little.

[greenemami]

I'm sorry, but yes, as far as I know (with you haven't not give a reason he can't be trusted around her, other than the obvious that he hasn't seen her for 18 months!) he will probably get visitation once paternity is established.  I do know of a dad who got visitation when the baby was close to a year old after not having seen him that whole time (or being involved in the pregnancy either.  But, that was a case of the mom asking for child support and then he wanted visitation.)

i do seriously doubt that he will be allowed to take her out of state that quickly-in the case I mentioned, I believe he didn't get overnights right away, but they did work up to every other weekend, then slightly more.  I would go into court requesting a very slow adjustment period for your daughter, including short frequent visits initially (no overnights!) and slowly working up to longer days and eventually overnights.  It is not fair to her to be thrown into the care of a man she doesn't know just because he is her father. 

If you go into court asking to deny visits entirely without a good reason (history of abuse, drug abuse, etc.) you are going to look like the bad guy :(   He may even try to claim that he hasn't seen her in 18 months because YOU wouldn't let him.  Why is he suddenly coming around now?  If you have it, try to document any times you offered to let him see her and he wasn't interested.  Offer to let him come over and Skype his family to show them the kiddo.  Do what you can to show that you are willing to support their relationship so it doesn't come off as you refusing him visitation and giving him a leg up in court.

Good luck.

[kblackstone444]

When I went to court for my son, I asked for supervised visitation.  We had a real safety reason regarding needing the supervised visitation, but my lawyer at the time as well as the guardian ad litem did suggest also asking for supervised visitation, on the grounds that my son was a year old and his father was a stranger to him, hadn't seen him since he was two months old, as a backup plan.  Perhaps you could suggest something like that?

As far as taking the child out of the state, without ever spending time with the child, it's unlikely he'd get a court order allowing him to... yet.  Once they've gotten to know eachother, though, all bets are off, unless you have a really good reason not to and can prove it.