QUESTION
What rights does a father have if no child custody agreement was signed?
Asked on Oct 06th, 2015 on Family Law - Ohio
More details to this question:
My husband and I live in Ohio. In 2008 his wife at the time moved out of state with their child. He was able to speak with his daughter only a few times by phone before her mother changed the telephone number. In 2009 he was sent divorce papers. In the child agreement section, his wife wrote that she would have full custody of the child, and he was to have no visitation, holidays, etc. Nothing. Thinking this was a ridiculous request, he sent that section of the paperwork back unsigned. Their divorce was granted in 2010 with his section of the child custody agreement still unsigned. He offered all the necessary information for her to get child support, but she never tried to file it. What rights does he have now to contact his daughter?
1 ANSWER
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Susan M. Weaver, Attorney at Law
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What rights he has will be determined by the laws of the state that granted the divorce. In Ohio he would only be able to assert his right to visitation if he completed the mandatory parenting class required of all divorcing parents. Once he completed the class he would be able to file a request for visitation rights through the courts.
If she is the custodial parent and he was given no visitation rights he needs to go to court, not try to contact his daughter directly.
Answered on Oct 09th, 2015 at 12:46 PM