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Dad's rights after 11 years

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Starsol1122

Junior Member
What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? NV
Father is in CA
My son is 11 years old and has always been under my care. Father and I were never married and he is not on the birth certificate. He sees my son about once a year for 2 days and calls him about once a month if he's lucky. There has never been a child support order but in the he past he would send 100 or 200 bucks almost every month. Well as my son has gotten older I kept asking the father to help more financially but he refused. So I went to the DA's office and filed for child support. Of course now father is upset and wants to take me to court for the following things:
1. Change my sons last name to his... Which my son does not want to
2. Gain some sort of custody ... He said to minimize the amount of child support ordered
3. Visitation... Which I have never denied ... But he just didn't put the effort in to do so
My son has never spent the night at his dad's... Doesn't call him dad...and says he doesn't want to go spend summers with him. They really don't have a father son relationship. My questions at this point ... How much custody can his father get and will the judge ask my son his opinion on visitation since he doesn't want to go... And can he really change his name?
His father has never been consistent in keeping a relationship with him but he says that now that I'm taking his money he wants something in return. Can someone give me an idea of what might happen? Thank you!
 


LdiJ

LdiJ

Senior Member
Starsol1122 said:
What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? NV
Father is in CA
My son is 11 years old and has always been under my care. Father and I were never married and he is not on the birth certificate. He sees my son about once a year for 2 days and calls him about once a month if he's lucky. There has never been a child support order but in the he past he would send 100 or 200 bucks almost every month. Well as my son has gotten older I kept asking the father to help more financially but he refused. So I went to the DA's office and filed for child support. Of course now father is upset and wants to take me to court for the following things:
1. Change my sons last name to his... Which my son does not want to
2. Gain some sort of custody ... He said to minimize the amount of child support ordered
3. Visitation... Which I have never denied ... But he just didn't put the effort in to do so
My son has never spent the night at his dad's... Doesn't call him dad...and says he doesn't want to go spend summers with him. They really don't have a father son relationship. My questions at this point ... How much custody can his father get and will the judge ask my son his opinion on visitation since he doesn't want to go... And can he really change his name?
His father has never been consistent in keeping a relationship with him but he says that now that I'm taking his money he wants something in return. Can someone give me an idea of what might happen? Thank you!
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The whole last name thing...that is iffy due to your son's age. Some judges might grant dad that request, others might deny it, others might encourage you to do a hyphenated last name, ie Smith-Jones.

It's likely that dad would be able to get joint legal custody (joint decision making) but any kind of physical custody is less likely. Visitation/parenting time is another story. Dad would absolutely get something. Whether or not he would get something like summers and things like that is how well your attorney (and you need one) would articulate to the judge dad's complete lack of involvement with the child up to this point. Most likely dad would have to start out visiting in your community, getting to know the child before it became more than that. However, again, based on your child's age that might be a fairly short period of time.

All that of course assumes that dad will follow through on his threats.
 
S

Starsol1122

Junior Member
LdiJ said:
The whole last name thing...that is iffy due to your son's age. Some judges might grant dad that request, others might deny it, others might encourage you to do a hyphenated last name, ie Smith-Jones.

It's likely that dad would be able to get joint legal custody (joint decision making) but any kind of physical custody is less likely. Visitation/parenting time is another story. Dad would absolutely get something. Whether or not he would get something like summers and things like that is how well your attorney (and you need one) would articulate to the judge dad's complete lack of involvement with the child up to this point. Most likely dad would have to start out visiting in your community, getting to know the child before it became more than that. However, again, based on your child's age that might be a fairly short period of time.

All that of course assumes that dad will follow through on his threats.
Click to expand...
Do I need a lawyer in CA? Or will he have to come to NV?
 
TheGeekess

TheGeekess

Keeper of the Kraken
LdiJ said:
The whole last name thing...that is iffy due to your son's age. Some judges might grant dad that request, others might deny it, others might encourage you to do a hyphenated last name, ie Smith-Jones.

It's likely that dad would be able to get joint legal custody (joint decision making) but any kind of physical custody is less likely. Visitation/parenting time is another story. Dad would absolutely get something. Whether or not he would get something like summers and things like that is how well your attorney (and you need one) would articulate to the judge dad's complete lack of involvement with the child up to this point. Most likely dad would have to start out visiting in your community, getting to know the child before it became more than that. However, again, based on your child's age that might be a fairly short period of time.

All that of course assumes that dad will follow through on his threats.
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Maybe. Maybe not. :cool:
 
TheGeekess

TheGeekess

Keeper of the Kraken
Starsol1122 said:
Do I need a lawyer in CA? Or will he have to come to NV?
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Dad will need to file in the state where Junior is a resident. So, that means he'll have to file in NV.

http://www.clarkcountycourts.us/shc/Custody/self_help_custody.htm

https://www.leg.state.nv.us/NRS/NRS-125C.html
 
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Proserpina

Senior Member
Spotty interest in the child until Mom got CS ordered + 11 year old's wishes + his best interest = a better-than-decent shot at blocking the name change. I'm not seeing why it would be in the child's best interest at all.
 
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single317dad

Senior Member
Starsol1122 said:
Father hasn't really been around... And no.. I'm a single mom...
Click to expand...
Thanks for answering my question.

It appears you're on pretty solid ground here. I wouldn't stress too much over any of Dad's threats, but as always it's wise to consult with a local attorney.

Child support will likely be ordered. The amount will likely be higher than you have received in the past. For details, see NRS125B.070:

https://leg.state.nv.us/NRS/NRS-125B.html#NRS125BSec070

Visitation will likely be ordered if Dad asks for it properly. Visits will likely be minimal at first, graduating to a standard long distance plan. My sense of the situation is that Dad will tire of this hassle long before it comes to that.

Edit: I assumed a distance between the parents, though that was never stated.
 
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S

Starsol1122

Junior Member
Well what do you know today I received a letter for genetic testing ... Thank you all for your input... I feel a lot better about the situation
 
LdiJ

LdiJ

Senior Member
Blue Meanie said:
Perhaps...But it isn't too late for child and dad to form a REAL bond. If Mom handles this properly on her end ...This could be a REALLY GOOD THING for her son.
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It could be...but this honestly seems to be all about the money for dad, and unfortunately that rarely results in a positive for the child. On top of that we are talking about an 11 year old child...right at about the worst age for this to be happening...IMO.
 
Just Blue

Just Blue

Senior Member
LdiJ said:
It could be...but this honestly seems to be all about the money for dad, and unfortunately that rarely results in a positive for the child. On top of that we are talking about an 11 year old child...right at about the worst age for this to be happening...IMO.
Click to expand...
Dad might be starting this for the wrong reasons...But it could still work out well. I hope so.

Good Luck OP...Hope this works out well for your son.
 
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