What are my chances of recieving sole legal or physical custody?

Get Legal Help Today

Compare Quotes From Top Companies and Save

secured lock Secured with SHA-256 Encryption

What are my chances of recieving sole legal or physical custody?

My daughter is 5 years old and she has only seen her father 5 times in her life. We have established paternity and have also done established child support. He has only sent me one child support check in the past year and 4 months approximately.

Asked on November 2, 2011 under Family Law, Florida

Answers:

M.T.G., Member, New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney

Answered 12 years ago | Contributor

Have you also an established visitation plan in effect?  Doe she see his daughter at all?  You can take him back to court for the child support - for the arrears and for the enforcement.  If there is no official custody or visitation order in effect and you and the father have never been married then you are the legal guardian of the child.  But that is not to say that he can not petition the court for joint custody and for visitation as well.  That does not mean that you will lose physical custody of your child, as you can still request to be the "custodial parent".  I would strongly suggest consulting with an attorney on this matter.  Good luck to you.


IMPORTANT NOTICE: The Answer(s) provided above are for general information only. The attorney providing the answer was not serving as the attorney for the person submitting the question or in any attorney-client relationship with such person. Laws may vary from state to state, and sometimes change. Tiny variations in the facts, or a fact not set forth in a question, often can change a legal outcome or an attorney's conclusion. Although AttorneyPages.com has verified the attorney was admitted to practice law in at least one jurisdiction, he or she may not be authorized to practice law in the jurisdiction referred to in the question, nor is he or she necessarily experienced in the area of the law involved. Unlike the information in the Answer(s) above, upon which you should NOT rely, for personal advice you can rely upon we suggest you retain an attorney to represent you.

Get Legal Help Today

Find the right lawyer for your legal issue.

secured lock Secured with SHA-256 Encryption