What rights does a mother have if she separated from her husband with a child? 17 Answers as of August 30, 2011

Your boyfriend has equal rights with those of his wife. However, where parties are separated, the parent with physical custody of the parties' married children has the benefit of "possession". Your boyfriend's only option is to obtain custody/visitation without having to abide by the mother's rules would be to obtain a custody order. He can file for either divorce or legal separation and request a custody order as an outcome of that filing.

Until there is a court order to the contrary, married parents have an equal right to have the children in their care. Where a divorce is anticipated, the situation can become an untenable tug of war with the children between parents. Moreover, depriving a parent of contact with their children without good cause can be considered by a court when a custody determination is made. In most cases, the children are better served by mediating a custody and parenting schedule until a court can hear the issue as part of a custody, legal separation or divorce case and issue an order based on what it believes to be in the best interests of the children.

He should file either a complaint for separate maintenance or divorce in which he would request joint custody and parenting time. Without a court order to enforce, nothing can be done.

Hire a Family Law lawyer. A mother cannot prevent the child's father from seeing that child whether he is paying support or not.

I will not allow aparent to play access-to-the-child games or coercively use a child as a pawn in the relationship with the other parent. The only solution, since the mother is bullying and acting unilaterally in a manner that violates and limits the father's parental rights, is to file a Paternity case and an Order to Show Cause (OSC), re: Custody and Visitation. That will result in Court orders that define a visitation schedule. Violation of the orders would permit your boyfriend to seek law enforcement assistance to force compliance with visitation and would also allow him to file an OSC, re: Contempt against the mother for violating the visitation orders, if she persisted with her selfish stubborness. She needs a wake-up call. You have to wonder what made her think she could dictate the terms of his access to his child in the first place. You could ask for Primary Physical Custody, and try to limit the mother to some visitation schedule, if you have evidence, as you said,that she is potentially dangerous to the child (e.g., uses drugs, whether around the child or not, hasundesirableor dangerous people around the house, leaves the child unattended, or in the care of someone without informing the father, drives the child around without a car seat, takes the child with her to parties and does not supervise the child, etc...pretty much anything dangerous or that indicates negligent parenting).

If the father of this child wants custody rights with respect to his child, he should file a petition with the local J&DR Court to secure such rights; if visitation, then a petition for visitation rights. Without a valid court order defining these rights, the situation described will likely persist indefinitely.

If there is no Court order then the father has as much right to a child in as the mother since they are still married.

Either he gets a lawyer and protects his rights, or he does not get one and continues to have problems.

Without establishing legal paternity when the parents are not married the biological father has minimal rights. He needs to file a Petition for Paternity and Visitation at the least and he could also ask for joint legal custody as well.

Your questions have to be answered in a divorce court. Until a judge rules how parenting by divorced parents is to be handled, there are no rules and each parent is free to be foolish, spiteful to the detriment of the child. You have discovered one more reason why people should get divorced before they start new relationships.