Custody vs parenting time?

[Pete]

I'm interested in establishing parenting time and joint custody for
daughter. The mother filed for child support 2 years ago and I've seen
my daughter regularly since then (usually at her grandmother's house).
My concern is that I have never been granted any legal custody or
parenting time. We've all just sort of worked that part of it out
amongst ourselves. Recently the mother has been found to have some
heart problems. I'm afraid if something ever happened to her that I'd
end up with someone else raising my daughter. As I started reading
about parenting time and custody, I got lost in all the legalese in
the forms. I'm assuming that the mother will go along with parenting
time but might be reluctant to have joint legal custody. Can someone
tell me what I need to be doing first to get things started? How often
is joint legal custody awarded to a never married father?

A little background...My daughter's mom and I were never married. She
left the area after she got pregnant and I never saw my daughter until
she was 2. At that time she moved back into the area and filed for
support and I've been visiting my daughter about once a week give or
take since then. This is in Michigan.

Thanks in advance for any help offered.

[Zimm]

You need to go file for at least joint legal custody and visitation
time. If you are paying cs, then you have that right. You don't say
what county you are in but Washtenaw County has a pretty good web site
that may help you out:
http://www.co.washtenaw.mi.us/depts/courts/foc/foc.htm

Good luck

Zimm

Pete wrote:
> I'm interested in establishing parenting time and joint custody for
> daughter. The mother filed for child support 2 years ago and I've seen
> my daughter regularly since then (usually at her grandmother's house).
> My concern is that I have never been granted any legal custody or
> parenting time. We've all just sort of worked that part of it out
> amongst ourselves. Recently the mother has been found to have some
> heart problems. I'm afraid if something ever happened to her that I'd
> end up with someone else raising my daughter. As I started reading
> about parenting time and custody, I got lost in all the legalese in
> the forms. I'm assuming that the mother will go along with parenting
> time but might be reluctant to have joint legal custody. Can someone
> tell me what I need to be doing first to get things started? How often
> is joint legal custody awarded to a never married father?
>
> A little background...My daughter's mom and I were never married. She
> left the area after she got pregnant and I never saw my daughter until
> she was 2. At that time she moved back into the area and filed for
> support and I've been visiting my daughter about once a week give or
> take since then. This is in Michigan.
>
> Thanks in advance for any help offered.

Zimm > wrote:
: You need to go file for at least joint legal custody and visitation
: time. If you are paying cs, then you have that right. You don't say
: what county you are in but Washtenaw County has a pretty good web site
: that may help you out:
: http://www.co.washtenaw.mi.us/depts/courts/foc/foc.htm

: Good luck

: Zimm

Good advice.

Additionally, I would think with you as "next of kin" that your custody
should prevail over the grandmother's. OTOH, courts tend to perpetuate
status quo with where the children live.

If it happens, you should immediately be prepared to house and care for
the child. In absence of a custody order, you as the father should have
equal access to the child relative to the mother.

b.