Daughter born out of wedlock & lives with mom. Do I automatically have sole custody?

[ReeRee]

My daughter was born out of wedlock in State of New Jersey. Father's name is on birth certificate. My daughter lives with me and I take care of her day to day living. Do I have to file for custody when I file for child support or do I automatically have custody in the State of NJ? Thanks for answering and helping : )

 

[army judge]

Birth mothers automatically receive presumptive custody. You birth a child, how could it not be yours? By the way, a man's name on a BC often means nothing more than he wishes to be a father. In most states, paternity must be established by DNA testing.


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[mightymoose]

If you are going to ask for child support you would be well off to also obtain a custody/visitation order. Without a custody order there is nothing to prevent the father from refusing to return the child to you. Sooner or later this will be a problem and you will be best off if you can present a court order that indicates where the child belongs.