Can my boyfriend get his son without going to court? 24 Answers as of January 20, 2012

Your BF has a superior right to possession over Grandma. However, Grandma has the child. If she hands the child over - great, possession is what counts. If however, Grandma refuses, then the Sheriff can be called but expect the deputy to say this is domestic and not his/her concern, go to court. If you get a Deputy that takes a position, your BF should be given the child. But that would be the exception, not the rule. The simple resolution for the Sheriff's office is to stay out of the dispute unless it gets violent or someone breaches the peace in which case they arrest the aggressor which certainly will not help your BF. He needs to get his son but to do so will require a lawyer (unless Grandma agrees - what do you think, will she?). If Grandma will not agree, go to court and do it while Mom is in jail or at least start it while she is in jail, she most likely cannot pay for a defense lawyer and a custody lawyer. The proper procedure is file a Suit to Establish Paternity and get custody orders.

No. Until your boyfriend legitimates the child, he has no legal standing to attain custody. The mother has sole custody, and therefore has the right to place the child with whomever she wants. Your boyfriend will have to file an action to legitimate the child; and can request that he be granted primary custody as an outcome of the order. He will have to name the mother as the defendant, will have to have the mother served in jail, and will need to inform the court of where (and with whom) the child currently resides. If the grandmother was granted guardianship over the child, she will also need to be a party to the complaint. Hiring an attorney is not a requirement, but it is recommended.

Your boyfriend will have to go to court to establish paternity. He may represent himself if he chooses. However, depending on his past involvement with the child and the age of the child he may have a hard fight on his hands if grandma fights for custody. Either way, he wants to get an emergency petition for temporary custody on file as soon as possible before the mother gets out of jail.

Your boyfriend needs to legitimate the child by filing a legitimation action in the county where the mother is incarcerated. The legitimation action will be a way for him to obtain legal custodial rights with the child. Your boyfriend should consult an attorney about filing this case in Superior Court.

Until he goes to Court and legitimates his son, he has no legal or custodial rights. He has to obtain a Legitimization Order before he can do anything legally.

He needs to file a petition to establish paternity, custody and child support so he can establish that he is the biological and legal father and get primary custody rights. He can do this on his own however an attorney can help him understand the process. It depends on how much he can handle on his own.

He will still have to go to court to establish paternity and receive a custody order.

He will need to go to court. A guardian will be appointed by the court to represent the child. The court will look at what is best for the child. If he attempts to do it without the aid of the court he could end up in jail himself and hurt any chance of getting custody. He should get a lawyer.

No, he has no rights to the child unless he files a legitimation and custody action in court.

If he is the father, how will he prove that he should be the legal guardian. If the grandmother gives the child up, I suppose it can happen.