Legal Question in Family Law in Utah

My 17-year-old unmarried son recently became a father. The mother has already had 1 child taken away by DCFS. The baby and mother (and her entire family) came to stay at our home after she left the hospital and when her and her family had to be escorted out by the police because of their behavior, my son kept the baby at our house. We immediately filed parentage paperwork with the courts, also stating that while my son wants the babies mother a part of her life, he would like to keep full custody of the baby based off of the treatment the mother gave to the baby since birth. Although he is 17, he has shown more parenting skills than most full grown adult parents. What are his chances he will be able to keep custody once this goes to court? He has a full-time job, which he has had for over a year and has provided everything the baby needs since before she was born. Because the mother is 18 and we live in Utah, regardless of the circumstances so far, we are worried he will be denied based off those alone instead of being awarded custody based off of his ability to financially provide for the baby and care for her physically and emotionally in a way the mother seems to lack instinct.


Asked on 7/25/16, 9:40 am

1 Answer from Attorneys
Jared S. Lawrence Jared Lawrence PC

The best interests of the child are the most important. It will likely be a long, expensive fight as you will probably need to have a custody evaluator appointed, which itself will make it costly. Hopefully, she will eventually consent, but until then, you need an attorney.

Read more
Answered on 7/26/16, 9:49 am


Related Questions & Answers

More Family Law, Divorce, Child Custody and Adoption questions and answers in Utah