Q: I'm an unmarried father in Utah of 3 boys. Have lived as a family since the begining to present. Can I get 50/50 custod
Ages 7, 5 and 3. I am on birth certificates. Really have been living as a normal family with mother for 7 years till present. Just have never been married. Our neighbors are even shocked at times to hear we were never legitimately married. We're ending on good terms for the most part but the one thing we don't agree on is splitting custody 50/50. My own main reasons I want this is basically because she gets 700 in child support from another previous marriage with 2 older kids that have lived with us since day 1. And although I took the responsibility in raising them as my own, I have never asked for a single penny let alone what she does with the extra income. I have raised the other 2 kids for 7 years now and have only known her to spend the money mostly on herself as I have provided the full cost of living and food for everyone in the house. Being it's Utah and we're not married, what are the chances I get a split custody ruling 50/50?
A: You will likely be hard-pressed to find an attorney willing to give you your chances. I will tell you that the request, based on the extremely limited amount of information in this Ask-a-Lawyer post, is reasonable. If you are willing to actually be responsible for taking care of the children 50% of the time, have a demonstrable history of contributing to the care of the children, have a safe place for visitation to occur, and there are no red flags for the Court to point to as a reason you should not be awarded equal custody; I do not see why you could not share custody equally with your ex.
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