I agree that yshe should give this father a chance at parenting, unless she feels that the child would not be well taken care of, therefore putting the child in harms way. If she files for custody first, then they both will see a jugde and he will decide who gets sole custody. He will also make a judgement, based on the situation, what times of the week would be the best for the father to have the child. But it will depend on who les first, at least in the state of oregon. After you file for full custody, the other parent cannot file for joint, unless it is agreed between both parents. As far as child supprt. once they get an open case on him, the child supprt will start rackin up. and eventually when he does get his pathetic sh*t togeter, then he will have to start paying that back. But this all boils down to the mistake that your sister made by consiously getting pregnant by this loser and then finaling it with marriage. Trail and error can be a major slap in the face for some individuals. I don't believe in divorce. No matter how much of a dead beat this guy is. Maybe she should try to seperate from him for awhile and give her husband an altimadem. Let him know how serios she is . Because a jugde is going to look at all of these things. He will make a decision based on who the child will be better off with, when it comes to full custody. Deadbeats sometimes dont have a leg to stand on. I encourage your young sister to stay strong and stand her grounds. She knew very well what kind of a young man he was. Maybe there is hope for him. Maybe if he is faced with the option of losing his wife and then custody rights to his child in court, it very well may be the thing he needs to put effort into this marraige and child. If not than he probably doesnt care . And he most likely wont stand a chance in court. But i dont recomending for her to abuse he control, but to make her main focus the well being of the child. He should be allowed some rights to the child if he cares to have any. These can be very tough situations. Sometimes people let there emotions get the best of the, and they make decisions based on anger or resentment, and not what important. Good luck. And be supportive to her. Try not to encourage her to take action out of revenge for being a loser.