Legal Question in Family Law in Utah

Re: Unmarried and Pregnant

The mother always has presumed custody of her child, unless she is shown to be incompetent or will place the child at unnecessary risk. (Drug abuse, etc.) If she does not name the father on the birth certificate, he must assert his paternity in court. If he is named the father, then he is entitled to standard visitation and will have to pay child support. Marriage to control the child is not realistic. She will have more control if she remains single and the father is limited to standard visitation. However, she will not be able to control the time the father spends with his family, unless there is proof that the child is actually at risk. If at risk, then the father can be restrained from allowing the child to be around those persons who present a hazard.

There is a grandparent's visitation right in Utah, but it is predicated on a personal relationship with the grandchild having already been established. With a newborn, there is no such relationship. The grandparents' rights usually arise in a divorce situation.

Your daughter should consider placing the child for adoption with a two parent healthy family. If she marries the father for these reasons, you can be assured that there will be a divorce. The best for the baby is to be raised in a more stable two parent home which is established and has been shown to be stable.