Does paying child support determine the rights a parent has over the child?

The father's duty to pay child support is separate from the father's rights to the child. Filing for support will not automatically mean that he can "take" your child. Custody and visitation is determine by what the court deems to be in the best interest of the child; if he hasn't been involved with your child thus far then it would be incredibly unlikely that a court would order a custody change. If the father asks for visitation then this would likely be ordered, absent a showing that it would not be in the best interest of the child to visit with his father. A big part of this answer, however, depends on whether paternity has even been established. If he hasn't been established as the legal father then that will need to happen prior to support or visitation were awarded. If you are truly worried about custody and/or visitation, I recommend that you speak to an attorney about the specifics of your case prior to filing anything.

To supplement the answer above: custody, parenting time and child support are all separate issues addressed by the court. They do have some relation to each other - for example, the amount of parenting time can affect the amount of child support, and who has "parenting time" depends on the custody arrangement, and the custody arrangement determines who pays child support. However, assuming paternity has been established. at that point both parents have 100% custodial rights until a court divides up the rights and responsibilities between the parents. You should contact an experienced family law attorney in order to go over your specific rights and responsibilities, and to determine the best course of action to protect yourself and your child. You can find someone through the Oregon State Bar Lawyer Referral Service at 503-684-3763 or toll-free in Oregon at 800-452-7636.

I agree with both the answers above. In brief: No. There is no connection between payment of child support and custody rights most of the time. Many parents pay child support for kids they hardly ever see; other parents see their kids all the time but fail to pay child support that they ought to. The only connection is that pursuing child support may make a parent aware of the child's existence, or remind them of it, causing them to pursue some parenting rights. Parents who see their children more often (more than 25% of each year's overnights) pay less in child support, so there can be a financial incentive to seek more parenting time. But custody decisions are made according to the best interests of the child, not according to who can pay what. You should, of course, have your own lawyer if you're going to be using the legal system. You should also be aware that you can initiate child support collections through the Support Enforcement Division of the District Attorney's Office. They do most of the legwork for you, until and unless custody or parenting time litigation gets involved. Contact information is available online at http://oregonchildsupport.gov/offices/index.shtml .