Legal Question in Family Law in Utah
Here is my problem (the question is at the end).my babys daddy told me he is going to take me to court and get joint custody of our daughter. long story short through the pregnacy and after she was born he used his time and money on drugs, bailed on appointments for the baby, and the financial responsibility of medical appointments or anything pertaining to her. he denies to his friends and most of his own family she is even his i have written down incidents and dates of many things he has done.one example of what he has done-a driver under the influence hit my car four months or so into the pregnancy there were complications and i was put on bedrest for four days so my body would not be thrown into labor. the odds of my baby surviving outside the womb at that stage were slim to none the doctors said.knowing this he did not come to the er.he had the ability to see me and my belly-his baby-that day and all four days after- HE WAS EVEN RIGHT BY MY HOUSE and never once stopped by to see me or her.i called him to come to the hospital the day i went into labor.when it was time to do the paperwork and be released from the hospital he refused to be on the birth certificate wanted no legal responsibility and still went off and did drugs only marijuana to my knowledge.he came back and gave me many reasons to beleive he didnt want that life anymore claiming he has a job and only wants to be a good father. he also wanted to work it out with me.if he was going to be safe and actually take the responsibility to be there for her i did not want to stand in the way of a man and his daughter, though i did decline the offer of working things out with us believing his main focus for now should be his daughter.he has kept a job for a while-i fear this is my mistake which he can use against me in court- and bought a few diapers wet wipes and outfits. she is almost two months old yet i am still catching him in drinking and denying his own daughter to friends and family.i dont know if he has done other drugs or driven under the influence. i am nineteen he is twenty and right now he is so angry that i refuse to be with him or subject lilly to the father he is to her. he has not wanted her this whole time yet keeping her in his life means keeping me in his life as well even if just to see me. also he knows i am afraid for him to be alone with her because she wont be properly cared for. that is also the worst thing he could do to hurt me is to take my daughter and time i could have to be with her and just to sit there knowing what kind of life he will subject her to.he has confessed to me things like when i broke up with him he tried to follow me and track me down. the underage girl he was sleeping with at the time even contacted me and said how scary he was being-she was with him when he did this.he is really going to try and get rights over her,i want him out of her life and mine. period. as of now there is no legal proof she is his-i know she is though he is the only possible father-but legally he is not on a birth certificate or any document giving him rights over her. i have no money for i am on maternity leave as of now and living with my parents i am scared he will come after her and take her leaving me legally defenseless.i have dated him him for about four years now i know he is not stable or qualifeid on any level to be around our baby. i know this but i am not sure how much of it i can prove. his parents are very rich-if he got a good lawyer maybe he could take her.with this information its only scratching the surface but please could you tell me what is my best legal option at this point? i have never had to do anything even remotely close to something like this so i have no idea what my options are for me or my daughter. thank you!
1 Answer from Attorneys
If your daughter is only 2 months old, he won't be able to take her from you. The visitation he would be entitled to is minimal for a child this age and needs to occur in your home. If he's not paying child support you should go to the Office of Recovery Services and open a case with them to establish paternity and get support orders in place. You can do the same through the courts using a private attorney. I offer a free initial consultation if you would like to discuss your case further.