My son lives with me and he has a daughter that is 3 years old. The child resides in a home with her mother, her mother’s boyfriend, her grandmother, grandfather and half brother (her mother just had a new baby). She and my son have not been together since right after the birth of their daughter. They have no written agreement, however, my son pays her an agreed upon amount each month. My question is this: My son works as a shift manager at a fast food restaurant and never has set hours. His days off change from week to week. He gives the mother ample notice of when he will be off so that he can pick up his daughter and he usually keeps her over night. Here lately she has been giving him a hard time. She doesn’t answer her phone when he calls, he text messages her and she waits a day or so to text him back. She is hateful to him all the time and is now saying things like well I’m not sure she wants to come over tomorrow, I will let you know. Yesterday she said she would let him know and today she says the child wanted to go out with her Aunt instead of him so he can’t have her. (she is 3 years old!!) Is there anything we can do short of hiring an attorney and taking her to court as far as visitation goes?
Your son needs to file an action for custody in order to have the court set visitation. While he does have equal rights to the child as the father, absent a court order there is no way to guarantee the mother will not continue to withhold the child.