In most custody cases, the courts listen to the wishes of the child of divorced parents. The child makes his or her wishes known to the court through a custody evaluator or child representative who is appointed by the court. As long as the child is at the right age to make an informed decision, the courts give substantial weight to the child s wishes regarding his or her custody. Physical custody means the child would spend time living with that parent on a regular basis. If it is a joint physical custody , the child shuttles between each parent s homes. If a parent has sole legal custody , that parent has the right to make decisions on the child s health, education, and overall welfare (doctor, schools, etc). For one to develop positive attitude, he or she must undergo self-reassessment to find out what are his or her strengths as well as the weaknesses. Once all of these have been identified, it will be easier to turn the bad ones into good ones and there would also be greater chances of making the positive ones better. This would involve the establishing of his paternity of the child and subsequently, petitioning the court for his share of parental rights. At best, the unmarried father can only gain some form of child custody and visitation rights. This is dependent, too, on the mother s cooperative attitude on agreeing out of court settlements. If it is proven, mothers has the right to ask for child support, medical and health insurance of the child, a share in the medical expenses during birth, and pay a portion of the mother s legal expenses. If the father fails in his obligations, the mother has the right to ask the court to terminate custody rights of the father. For example, a non-custodial parent needs to file a lawsuit against the custodial parent who does not follow the visitation rules ordered by the court. However, in other states, the non-custodial parent may be allowed to have a warrant served for the custodial parent. Thus, it is important to be familiar with the laws that apply to your situation.