It is not required that the parents be married in order to have custody of the child. Each parent has a right to custody once the child is born. To file for custody, one can go to the Family Court Building in your county and file a petition. The staff can assist you in filling out the petition as long as you provide them with the necessary information. They will also instruct her on how to serve the petition on the other party. In addition, the Court has resources available to you if you seek to file for custody without a lawyer. A lawyer is not necessary for filing a petition for custody. However, a lawyer's assistance is always valuable when seeking custody. It can be a very long and difficult process, and an attorney with experience with custody proceedings will help you navigate the process more effectively. The Court has many factors that it can consider in determining custody, and having a lawyer training in handling custody proceedings will help bring out the relevant factors to help your argument for custody. Also, what type of custody are you seeking? Is it legal custody (you can make decision for the child and be involved in the decision making in the child's education, extracurricular activities, religion, etc.) or physical custody (the child's primary residence is your residence) or both? Or are you just seeking the right to see the child on a regular basis, i.e. visitation? That must be considered before filing the petition. I hope this helps.

Answer Applies to: New York
Replied: 11/11/2011

Disclaimer: The response above does not form an attorney-client relationship. This answer may or may not apply to you and should not be relied upon as legal advice. LawQA does not make any representation as to the expertise or qualifications of this attorney. This attorney may or may not be admitted to state bar of your state.

A lawyer is always advisable. Yes you can, possibly. You need to file a custody petition with Family Court.

Answer Applies to: New York
Replied: 11/11/2011

Disclaimer: The response above does not form an attorney-client relationship. This answer may or may not apply to you and should not be relied upon as legal advice. LawQA does not make any representation as to the expertise or qualifications of this attorney. This attorney may or may not be admitted to state bar of your state.

You can get sole custody you can Petition in the Family Court.

Answer Applies to: New York
Replied: 11/10/2011

Disclaimer: The response above does not form an attorney-client relationship. This answer may or may not apply to you and should not be relied upon as legal advice. LawQA does not make any representation as to the expertise or qualifications of this attorney. This attorney may or may not be admitted to state bar of your state.

You would need to seek custody through Family Court and the assistance of a local attorney would be a very good idea.

Answer Applies to: New York
Replied: 11/10/2011

Disclaimer: The response above does not form an attorney-client relationship. This answer may or may not apply to you and should not be relied upon as legal advice. LawQA does not make any representation as to the expertise or qualifications of this attorney. This attorney may or may not be admitted to state bar of your state.