child custody never established

[smutzer21]

The child in question is now 4 years old, and custody has never been established in court. He lives with his mother in Missouri, and we (the father, and me his stepmother) see him when she feels she wants us to see him. Right now the father is in the military and we are stationed in California. We currently have him for part of the summer. My question is: If custody has never been established in court, does the either parent have more custody right than the other. Does the mother have any more right to his custody than the father. If we filed for custody, would we have to file in Missouri or could we file in California? And the father is on the birth certificate, but the mother gave the child her last name, can the father have the child's last name changed to his?

 

[thestepmom]

neither one of them has custody. This means that neither one of them have more rights then the other.
You would have to file where the child has lived for the last 6 months.
My husband is in the Military, and we are also stationed in California. Don't let your husband be a push over just because he is in the Military. WHen my husband is gone I have the right to excersize visitation. So, don't let that be a stumbling block.
If you are in base housing they will estimate the value of your house, and that will be added to base pay. They can not use his Q for calculating child support, that is his food money. If he was going to the Galley they can't steal the food from his mouth, so Q can't be taken from him either. Remember to go to a court house and figure up what child support will be before you go to court so there are no surpizes.Also, if he has any speacial pays like Flight pay, or anyother pay like that it will also be counted.
You really need to set up a whole plan when you are getting ready to go to court. Figure out what kind of visitation you will want. How many days a month, and for how long. What will the weekly schedule look like, ( if your husband has a wierd schedule plan around it) Have two or three other plans ready incase of opposition from mom.