Legal Ease,Regarding custody, guardianship. My brother was…

The court will always treat access and support as two completely different issues. Your brother has a very strong case for access and even joint custody. He has essentially been this child's father the child's whole life. The Court will make its decision based on what it determines is in the child's best interests and so it is not at all likely that the court will think the child should lose this man from is life. In terms of support is it very possible that your brother will have to pay some support and that would be the case whether he sees the child or not. A step-parent is sometimes obliged to pay child support for step-children.That is the case when that step-parent actually acted as if he was the parent of the child. This is based on the legal doctrine of in loco parentis. This is a Latin phrase which translates to "in the place of the parent."The Court would scrutinize the relationship between him and the child and would try and determine whether he had been really acting as a father. But the biological father would be expected to pay support too and that is the case whether the mother lives with him now or not so your brother would not have to pay as much as he would if there was no biological father or if he was the biological father. I suggest that your brother consult with a family lawyer face to face at this point as these are very serious issues with potentially serious consequences.