If the mother denies the father access to his child, the father will need to fight for such right through the family court. 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. How To Cope After Losing A Child Custody Case Losing a child custody case is like losing your child forever. This feels like it since you won t be able to be with your child the way you want to be since legal restrictions get in the way. Nobody can blame the parents who have loss custody of their kids if they will feel bitter, angry, depressed and anxious upon learning that after the painful process of fighting for child custody, all your efforts will be thrown at the window. ) Aside from reading books and visiting online sites that offer free information on child custody cases, it would be advisable to talk to somebody an immediate family member, a friend or a neighbor who went through the same things. By talking to these people, you will have an idea what are the things that you should and should not do. On the other hand, physical custody allows you to have your child live with you. You can get both legal and physical rights in either sole or joint custody. Sole custody gives both legal and physical rights to only one parent. In contrast, joint custody allows both parents to share decisions regarding their children s upbringing. Also, if you are informed about the details of child custody, you can explain it easily to your child. You can answer his or her queries on why this has to happen, why is it happening and what is in store for him or her after the process. To ensure that you will win the child custody case, make sure that you: - Think of the welfare of the kid or kids at all times. Although losing a child custody case is equivalent to the feeling of losing the child, this should not be the end of everything. Parents can still do something since they still get to see their child within the bounds set by law. Experts say that for parents who lose the custody of their children to cope fast with the depression, they should start by not losing hope.