Note: The DearEsq free 'ask a lawyer' site is offered as a free informational service to the public and is not intended as legal advice. Laws vary from state-to-state, and in addition every situation is unique, and relevant facts may not be known. The answer to the question posed below may not apply to in your state or to your situation. For legal advice in your state and your situation you should consult with an attorney in your state who is familiar with the rules and laws in your state.
I am contacting you to find out what forms my son needs to file to get visitation rights. He has not seen his daughter in two years and now the mother has cut off phone contact too. The child is ten-years-old. My son is a federal prisoner (fraud) who has called regularly and made many beautiful gifts for his daughter. There is no birth certificate for the child according to the State of California. The child was born at a birthing center. They were never married although she lived with my son in San Francisco and then in Huntington Beach during her pregnancy and for two-and-a-half years after giving birth. She told everyone he was the father and I have a copy of what she planned for a birth announcement in her own hand showing him as the father. We haven’t been able to obtain any advice on what form to file and how to proceed because he is imprisoned. He misses his child. I sent him your book, but since he is imprisoned, he is very limited on information as to how to proceed. There has been no paternity test and the situation is adversarial.The mother has accepted money from his family and a car and acknowledged us as the grandparents but we have nothing in writing.
Since there is no legal record of your son’s parental rights, he will first need to request for an order to establish paternity (scientifically prove that he is the biological father). Once paternity is established, he can file an order requesting parental rights and if granted, proceed to request visitation. Because your son is in prison, if he is granted visitation rights, he may be limited in the various forms of contact he may have with his daughter. In any case, contact a family law attorney to obtain legal advice.
