My child’s father has been absent over a year and had a petition sent to my mothers house requesting visitation rights.

Contacting a lawyer to go over your situation and how best a lawyer can help you. Without knowing the full details of the case, there is nothing much we can provide you information on. So contacting an attorney would be the best option for now even if it is a free consultation.  Above answer and comments to questions are for general purposes only and does not constitute legal advice or establishes an attorney-client relationship without a signed retainer. Please reach out to an attorney you are comfortable with working and discussing your case in more details.