Vivitation

[huffamuse]

After paternity is established what kind of visitation can I expect? I live in North Carolina and she lives in South Carolina. Will I be allowed to bring him to NC for a weekend or will I have to stay down there?

[tbyte]

When the child is first born, you are not going to get any visitation away from the mother. As a matter of practicality, the courts will not separate an infant from its mother. So your initial visitation will be at the mother's home, or at a neutral location, and will allow your relatives to participate.
As the child gets older and more independent, you will be able to get visits to your home. To avoid having to go to court again four of five years from now, have this expanding visitation built into your parenting arrangement at the beginning.

[huffamuse]

Typically at what age would he be able to come to my home? Seems to me that when she goes back to work, he is able to go without her for 8 or so hours, so he should be able to go a weekend.

[tbyte]

I would think by the age of two you should be able to take the child for brief visits away from the mother, such as to local parks.
By the age of four or five you should be able to take the child for extended visits to your home.

[loved08]

WRONG WRONG WRONG...sorry t...

When the child is 6 weeks old she can technically go back to work and the child, still infant or not will be ok to leave the mother for many hours and be ok. they will not allow til 6 weeks. after this you WILL be allowed weekend visits and as long as you are still doing everything right; expect a drug test..ask for her to have one too. then you will get every other weekend and every other thursday.

weekend visists or taking the child the whole weekend?

[tbyte]

I simply can't see a court enforcing this with a 6 week old child. Please post a link to a law, or a case, to support your assertion.

[tbyte]

Well, I did some google searching on this, and most of the information I found simply stated that courts will "consider the age of the child" in determining visitation. Like most guidelines in our family courts, what this really means is that the judge or magistrate can order whatever they bloody well please.

The most detailed explanation I could find was this (http://www.cornwell-law.com/county/Fairfield.htm):

17.3 Babies and infants—age birth to 18 months

The court recognizes that visitation with babies and infants raises special concerns for the parties because of the care, skill and needs of the baby or infant.

During this most formative of times it is important that both parents be able to observe, share and participate in activities with the baby or infant.

The court encourages that the non-residential parent have frequent short visits with the baby or infant at the beginning with more and longer visits as the baby grows and the comfort level for the baby and parent increases.

Birth to six months. Short visits by the non-residential parent in the home of the residential parent. Seven hours per week. 6:00 P.M. to 7:00 P.M. each day or any other total of seven hours over four or more days as selected by the non-residential parent.

Six months to one year. Same as above for birth to six months plus one weekend day (Saturday or Sunday) per week from 10:00 A.M. to 6:00 P.M. This weekend day will be out of the home of the residential parent.

One year to 18 months. Four hours each week in the home of the residential parent plus 24 hours each weekend beginning at 6:00 p.m. on Friday or Saturday and ending 24 hours later.

After 18 months. Regular visitation schedule applies.

For time and distance reasons, this special schedule for infants shall not apply if the parties live 150 or more miles apart.

This is for Ohio, but practices in other States are probably similar.

[Postman]

2bit & mouse, probably

[huffamuse]

Tbyte, I did some googling last night also and found the same thing. I couldn't find anything definitive for South Carolina. That particular arrangement would nat apply because we live about 250 miles apart. I think it's ridiculous that an infant can go to daycare and be cared for by a complete stranger for 8+ hours a day at 6 weeks old, but the courts won't let a father take his child out of the mother's house.