-----Original Message-----
From: The Fatherhood Coalition [mailto:FATHERS-L@HOME.EASE.LSOFT.COM] On Behalf Of Richard Alexander
Sent: Wednesday, July 06, 2005 10:41 AM
To: FATHERS-L@HOME.EASE.LSOFT.COM
Subject: A father without rights

Greetings listers,

I was introduced today to your list.

I am an unwed father of a 12 year old boy. he lives with his mother. I have supported him and her for the last 13 years.

I do not have my name on his birth certificate and she refuses to let me do that. She will only let me spend time with him in her house.

What rights do I have and how can I change that and be able to have him in my place for visitation?

Lots of appreciation.

Richard Alexander

------------------------------------ ADVICE ------------------------------------------------

Richard,
If you are the biological father you have, at a minimum visitation rights. You need to file a complaint to open a case and then move for a DNA test I would think. Once paternity is established, unless the mother can prove you are some sort of threat to the child, you MUST be awarded some visitation rights. It is common that this be alternating weekends and a dinner or two per week, but this is totally up to the judge and how hard you want to fight.

These rights are "fundamental constitutional rights" that can only be taken away to save a child from serious harm, and then only to the minimum extent possible. (See the 14th Amendment, 1983, 1985 and much case law support this from the SJC which is often ignored by arrogant judge who think they get to make the laws).

Be aware though that once the complaint (case) is open the amount of child support may be up for change and debate too. In Massachusetts this is around 26% of your gross income - the highest percentage of income in the nation. Effectively they are hiding alimony in this figure and making it "child extortion". Pay it or go to jail. This is because there are big federal incentive to drive the child support collection figures higher any way they can. I have been told over $140 million was paid illegally to Massachusetts for making these "goals". Some claim this is what funds the judges retirements and that much of this money disappears somehow in the courthouse budgets.  With a decent salary child extortion can easily equal double or triple the cost of raising a child, when it should be 50% of this cost if it were really child support. So in fact (according to government figures) it can be as much as $1 million over the actual cost of raising a child if you have a low six figure salary.

I would suggest seeing if you can negotiate this out of court. If you can because the attorneys will start circling, stir up the pot to generate lots of fees and before you know it you will have spent $10,000 to $20,000 (and she will too) just to enforce your "god given" rights. The system is SO slanted toward woman that the lawyers will convince them they can get anything (and they often do). This makes for lots of fighting and fees for them and their buddies.

This system is a disgrace and basically the judges and lawyers break the law every single day in most cases. Hard to believe to the unindoctrinated but this is literally true. I have not been in court yet where I have not seen the law broken by a judge and/or attorney. They attempt to steamroll over you hoping you know nothing about the law, so they can do whatever is convenient and most profitable for them. Expect no attorney to have your best interests in mind over their billable hours and ongoing relationship with the judges.

I know this sounds cynical, but trust me it is absolutely 100% literally true. I have studied this now for almost 9 months and it is a disgusting, corrupt system driven purely by the self-interests of the people who run it. They have no shame or ethics. The divorce and domestic violence industry is now over $250 billion per year for these pigs at the trough feeding on and exploiting our grief to grab as much of your estate as they can on the way through their system.  It has become a monster. See articles on this site about how the "domestic violence advocates" encourage women to lie to beef up their figures and bribe them with financial support (yours and government assistance). 

There is a conspiracy of silence to keep this gravy training rolling and the few lawyers that fight it are attacked to discredit and disbar them. It is a HORRIBLE, HORRIBLE tragedy and system. Effectively it is a tyranny but justice is coming to rip it down. This will take years due to the powerful entrenched bureaucracy that will milk this cow as long as they can no matter how many millions of children and fathers it is destroying.

Please join and support one of the better fathers groups listed here or google a group in your state.