will he get custody if i'm on welfare?

[forbird]

I read that a factor in determining custody, although usually granted to the mother, is "each parents ability to provide for their children including food, shelter and medical care." If he has a lot of money and I am on welfare, will they give him custody over me?

[anity]

no, that will not give him custody over you, but they will make sure he is paying child support.

[ms.sophsmom]

I doubt tht will happen. And like pp said, child support will def be arranged based on income.

[MeeshMom]

No way they are not going to hand over your baby but I had to choose child support or welfare when we went to court. The state garnishes his money to pay for welfare as long as you are on it. If you can get more money in child support from him than you would get in government assistance then you can cancel the welfare. I think you should seek some legal aid ahead of time so you can figure out what to do. 

child support and custody/visitation are two different matters.

[Mrs.Miller11]

Quoting anity:

no, that will not give him custody over you, but they will make sure he is paying child support.

This

[forbird]

Well, he actually doesnt have a job. He quit his job to avoid child support and moved in with his parents and they are paying for his college education.. They have the money and lots of it.

He doesn't want anything to do with us (right now) but I fear that he will and because his parents have so much money and resources, they will succeed.

[forbird]

But thanks, yeah.. my lawyer said nothing can be done until after she's born in January.. but I think I should meet with him soon to ease some of my stress. :(

[anity]

as long as you are not doing drugs or abusing or neglecting your baby, you dont have to worry about losing him/her.

and the thing with getting cash assisitance, at least in my state, im not sure exactly how its done in other states, if the mother is getting it, the state goes after the father for child support but keeps it to pay back what they're giving you. but i heard that they will still give you a small portion of it as an insentive to cooperate in giving any info needed to find the father and get the child support from him. 

if he doesnt have a job or they are unable to find him, the child support will add up against him and if he files taxes, they will take every penny if it added up to that much.

with my ex its adding up and last taxes he filed and was gonna get about 1300 back, but every penny of it was taken to pay the state back. now i dont think he plans to file again because its just adding up more and more.

[PaperClip811]

It can be a factor but typically not a deciding factor.

[Robsessed98]

No, its not based on income alone. The judge has to take everything in consideration. Just be sure your parenting skills are right on track and that your personal life is squeaky clean.

[forbird]

thanks everyone. I'm talking with a lawyer tomorrow. urgh, what a stress.