How do I get joint legal custody?

[chasefox]

My ex and I have never been married. She is a career student who is finishing up her masters next month. She does not work and lives on student loans. ( She hasn't work full time in over 10 years. We have a 5 year old son together. She is a control freak. She does hot allow me to make any decisions for our son because as she puts it she is the constodial parent. I am a school teacher, and I net 1600 dollars a month. Of this $700 - to $800 goes to child support ($335) daycare ($200) and his health insurance ($80). After I pay my bills I am a -$200 every month. I documented the times I have my son and he is in my care about 165 days out of the year. Yet, I am not given any credit for this and I pay as though I never have him. She is not willing to give up the support money. I have him every week, usually 3 days or more. She has some mental issues. She committed herself for two weeks last year because she was having a nervous breakdown and now she sees a theapist twice a month. I'm concerned about my son's well being. How do I go about seeking custody? I can not afford a lawyer. Can I do this on my own?

 

[I AM ALWAYS LIABLE]

My ex and I have never been married. She is a career student who is finishing up her masters next month. She does not work and lives on student loans. ( She hasn't work full time in over 10 years. We have a 5 year old son together. She is a control freak. She does hot allow me to make any decisions for our son because as she puts it she is the constodial parent. I am a school teacher, and I net 1600 dollars a month. Of this $700 - to $800 goes to child support ($335) daycare ($200) and his health insurance ($80). After I pay my bills I am a -$200 every month. I documented the times I have my son and he is in my care about 165 days out of the year. Yet, I am not given any credit for this and I pay as though I never have him. She is not willing to give up the support money. I have him every week, usually 3 days or more. She has some mental issues. She committed herself for two weeks last year because she was having a nervous breakdown and now she sees a theapist twice a month. I'm concerned about my son's well being. How do I go about seeking custody? I can not afford a lawyer. Can I do this on my own?

My response:

You are a school teacher, and you're concerned about your son, yet you can't follow instructions. Like you require of your students, we too expect each writer to read and follow instructions. Didn't you see these instructions in BIG, RED, words?

"To receive the most complete legal information to your question,
you must include the State Name; Be Brief; To The Point; Type In Lower Case Letters. Please help us help you! "

Since you didn't tell us your State name, I can only suggest that you go to your nearest bookstore and buy a "How To" book on the subject.

IAAL