Q: I want full custody when my daughters born. Her father & I are not married. can I file for child support & have full cus
My babies father is violent, a drug user, a felon & I have documented reports with the police of the abuse. We are not married. I filed an OOP against him, & will be filing one immediately for her against him when she is born. How can I file for child support & still keep 100% full custody? I don’t want him to be anywhere near her, or have any contact with her. He’s a sociopath & is still on drugs.
A: He will have a right to see her if he is clean, but you would want to ask for supervised parenting time at his expense at a court affiliated parenting skills center or no parenting time if he is using.
A: I would recommend consulting with an attorney before filing anything. You want to make sure that what you have will be sufficient for full custody before you file.
A:
This is always a very difficult question to answer, because Arizona statutory scheme presumes that equal parenting time and joint legal decision-making is in every child's best interests. But, if you can prove these concerns, you may have a basis to rebut that presumption.
I am confident that one question you will continually be asked is whether you were aware of these issues prior to conceiving a child together. I only say so to prepare you for that question.
There is no way to predict exactly what a Judge will do. Your goal would be to paint an overall picture of the life you can provide for the child compared to Mother's. With most things being somewhat equal, our Court's certainly do order equal parenting time quite often. In fact, A.R.S. §25-403.02(B) requires the Court to adopt a parenting plan that provides for both parents to share legal decision-making regarding their child and that maximizes their respective parenting time (so long as such is in the child's best interests).
So, if you do not believe that kind of schedule to be in the child's best interests, you will need to prepare to convince your judge of your concerns.
A qualified and experienced family law attorney can of course assist you in considering your options
and then getting where you need to be. Most of us offer free, 1/2 hour consultations, in which your
matter can be discussed in detail. That would be a great opportunity to discuss the specifics of your
matter and develop a plan. I would encourage you to quickly schedule this free consultation.
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