Originally Posted by Blackcat31:
257.025 CUSTODY DISPUTES.
(a) In any custody or parenting time proceeding involving unmarried parents, the court shall consider and evaluate all relevant factors in section 518.17, subdivision 1, to determine the best interests of the child.
(b) The fact that the parents of the child are not or were never married to each other shall not be determinative of the custody of the child.
(c) A person may seek custody of a child by filing a petition or motion pursuant to section 518.156.
Here is some other really good info on establishing who the legal parent is/isn't:
https://mn.gov/dhs/people-we-serve/c...-parentage.jsp
That makes sense for deciding custody but I wonder if it doesn't necessarily apply to this situation (mother legally being required to grant visits w/o an order).
I'll check that link out as soon as I can and forward this question to our lawyer. The one we ended up hiring wasn't the same lawyer I was referring to in the original post.