babydoll019 said:
I'm in Maryland and my daughters father and i are in the middle of going to court over support/custody.he has not seen her since april almost 3 months will that have any effect on how visitation is set up and i have not recived money from him since before christmas.we were never married and honestly i hate him and do not want him near my baby is the anyway i can legally prevent him from seeing her?.in the past he has threatned to take her and not bring her back ,his family is not the best and i don't wish for them to be near her help me i go to court on july 9th what are my legal options someone plese e-mail me [email protected]
First, visitation and support are two separate issues. He is not allowed to withhold support if you dissallow visitation, nor are you allowed to withhold visitation if he does not pay support. The court will not look fondly on either of you if you are doing that. That aside, you should have your support issue filed already (you don't have to wait for custody to go through to file for support.)
As for not wanting him to see his child, he has the right to develop a relationship with his daughter. Your feelings for him are irrelevant in that matter. If you are concerned about him with her, request that parenting classes be a contingency for visitation. Be aware that often the court will order BOTH parties to parenting classes.
If you are worried about him not returning her from visitation, you should voice that concern to the judge, but be careful not to come across as hateful or vindictive, or your testimony will be discounted.
The court doesn't care about what you want, nor what he wants. Their only concern is what is in the best interest of the child. It would be prudent for the sake of your child for the two of you to develop some sort of "working relationship" because dissension between the two of you will hinder both of you from being the best parent you can to this little girl. Surely she deserves that?
Good Luck!
