how do I go about getting sole custody of my child. He resides with me and he is 4 months old.?

I tried to go for sole custody of my son, but it can be hard. First, you will have to prove that the father is totally unfit (i.e. drug addict, alcoholic, abusive, etc.) Otherwise, the court could grant you joint physical custody which means your son would live with you full time but the father is allowed to have him on weekends or whatever arrangements you both decide on. Also, having sole custody may result in no child support. My son's father is 33 and lives with his parents. He works under the table to have money for himself, and then collects unemployment so the child support gets paid out of that. (And believe me, the child support from unemloyment is not a lot). He is not a good influence on my son at all, but I am still ordered to let him see his son. Good luck!

Unless you can prove that he is long-term incarcerated, unfit, or completely absent (and that he knows he has a child), many states will only give you joint custody. This is because studies have shown that father's who have joint custody are more likely to pay child support.

petition the court