Father Concerned For Child's Well Being

by Thomas from Lakeland, Florida, Polk County

Father Concerned For Child's Well Being: I am a father of a 6 year old daughter, her mother and I were never married. I am currently married to someone else and have other children. We just got back the paternity results that she is my biological daughter but I am concerned about her well-being.



I'm not sure the legal proceedings in which I need to follow. She was removed from the mother's custody a few yrs ago due to child abuse from either the mother's boyfriend or herself, which we still don't know the answers to, and I wasn't notified due to living out of state and not on her birth record.

She was also investigated when our daughter was younger due to the mother not feeding her right, bathing her, and keeping her in dirty clothes. She lets me see our daughter but then keeps her from me if she doesn't get her way. She resides with her friend and her husband who has 3 children of own, along with her friend's sister, husband and their 4 children.

They live in a small 3 bedroom, which they've made into 4 due to everyone staying there. She (daughters mother) shares a room with her friend's older daughter, our daughter and the baby she just had, in a very unkempt, crowded house.

My wife and I took my daughter to the hospital due to a very high fever, and the mother didn't show up til many hours later after we informed we were gonna take her cause she wouldn't. Meanwhile she was more worried about getting her hair done and posing for pictures of herself in her room which she later posted on Facebook, which has the dates right on the picture of when they were taken.

And the mother still hasn't taken her for the follow-up appointment yet! What do you think I should do, or file? Can I get arrested for keeping her and refusing to return her to her mother if there's no custody established?

Answer to Florida Child Custody Question

Dear Thomas,

Before you do something that might get you in trouble take the proper precautions.

If I were in your place, my first step would be to establish rights to visitation through the courts.

Since your paternity has already been established through a DNA test, you need to file either a Supplemental Petition to Modify Parenting Plan / Time-Sharing Schedule and Other Relief, Form 12.905(a) if there is an existing court order, or a Petition for Paternity, Form 12.983(a) if no order exists.

In either petition you can state that it is not in the child's best interests to reside with the mother, and state the reasons. Since your ex already has a history with DCF, they will still have that case on file even though it is closed or was "unfounded".

There are several other forms which must be filed along with the petitions. One of the most important forms you also must file is a Florida Parenting Plan.

The Supervised Safety Focused Parenting Plan can be used in situations such as yours to protect the child from possible harm due to neglect; the presence of substance abuse; or the presence of domestic violence in the home.

If there is a situation where you believe that your daughter is in immediate danger of abuse or neglect if you returned her to her mother's home, you might consider refusing to return your daughter.

This is a risky step, and not to be taken lightly. I know of a situation where refusing to return a child worked out well for the parent refusing to return the child to his ex's home where the new boyfriend was violent.

On the other hand, the refusal to return a child to the legal custodian could backfire, so proceed cautiously if you do.

Notice: We provide these answers to the general public and our website visitors as a means to further their online legal research. These answers are merely suggestions and should not be regarded as legal advice.

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Our Self Help Guide, Modifying Custody & Visitation in Florida, helps you navigate the court process and procedures once you file your documents with easy to follow checklists, links to websites, important addresses & phone numbers, and much more. Modifying Custody & Visitation In Florida

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