Obtaining Sole Custody & 1 Missing Parent ....

[Natalie242]

First time posting - Trying to get some advice here (as I'm a single mother, I work 6 days and actually affording a lawyer is not possible right now). I have a 2.5 year old daughter, I was not married at the time that I had her (in Florida), but her father did sign the birth certificate, as we were together at the time. At 6 months old we seperated and he moved back to Spain and I have not heard from him since. I moved back to NY in October 2008. I am an Australian Citizen (Green card holder in the U.S) and I want to move back, and (Obviously) bring my daughter with me. I have been her sole provider since she was a newborn, I have all kinds of doctor bills, daycare bills and receipts for toys, clothes etc... to prove it. Appareantly in order for me to get her a passport and take her out of the country I have to have her fathers permission, which I can not obtain because I have No Clue where he is! I went to the courts and they informed that because I was not married at the time of birth I need to do a paternity test and then have him served with papers informing him that I am fighting for sole custody! I'm stuck, I tried to explain this to them and they said to consult a lawyer... Any advice would be GREATLY appreciated. Thank you for reading - Nat.
P.S - I Can Not Stress Enough - I HAVE NO CLUE WHERE HE IS, I know he left the country because the airline called the house to confirm such a purchase was made on the credit card the day before he flew.

 

[Duranie]

If the father signed the birth cert and the birth paperwork then a paternity test is not needed since he is the legal father. So that does not make much sense. Basically you should consult with a family law attrorney who might know how to handle this international issue. Part of it depends on if Spain is party to the Hague convention, where a child support and visitation order could possibly be enforced.