My sister has a 12 week old baby. She is not married to the father. The father has not made an attempt to see the baby, care for the baby, or aknowledge the baby.

My sister was going to apply for child support. The minute she told him this, he and his live in girlfriend started threatening to file for joint or full custody.

My sister is not a confrontational person and told him if he signed over his rights she would not go for the support. She wants to know what she has to do to start the process.

I think she should call his bluff - and still file for the support. My Neice deserves to be taken care of by both parrents. My sister can provide for her both financially and emotionaly - the least he can do is lend a hand with the financial responsibilty!

The courts do not like to terminate rights of one parent unless there is another parent willing to adopt. Have you browsed through the information in LawInfo's Free Legal Resource Center to learn more about the issue yet? See: http://www.lawinfo.com/consumer.html. Your sister can certainly try to speak to a lawyer to determine what legal options may be available. In the meantime, you may be able to learn more on your own. Search the "Free Legal Resources" tab, or browse the Consumer Resources. Good luck.