Child Custody

Hello, I have a 4 year old daughter who lives with me and I am looking to get FULL legal and physical custody of her due to her father and I having a domestic violence case recently. She was present when the case happened though she was sleeping. I do not want to give her father any chance ever hurt her and believe this is in her best interest. He has been violent with me for years, but this is the first time it had been when she was around and now I am done giving him chances. Do you think it is realistic to get what I am wanting to ask for?

Any advice appreciated. Thank You.

Speak with a lawyer in your county.

What you're seeking is rare.

He hurt you, not the child.

Until a court revokes his paternal rights, he's entitled to visitation with his child, should he choose to exercise.

As to what a particular court will do, that's a guessing game.

You have the right to ask, that's all that can be factually stated.

Just to clarify something.

Full/sole legal and joint custody does not mean that the other parent has no rights or cannot have any visitation.

I am aware that sole custody does not mean he cannot see his child. Its not that I do not eVer want him to see her, I just do not trust him to have joint custody. Does it make any difference that he has a criminal record a Mile long, including being in several mental institutions throughout his life? Or that as we speak because of the domestic violence case he has a no contact order with me AND my daughter?? And that this is his third domestic violence case, only first with me? He is dangerous which is my reasoning. I have raised her without any help hardly from him never has gave me a dime. I thought courts look seriously upon domestic violence In custody cases?

This is what the court will see:

His criminal and mental record were not a problem for you until after you'd had the child.

Now is it fair for them to see it that way? Perhaps, perhaps not. But the courts do generally expect people to be somewhat selective in who they choose to be adequate parenting material.

DV can impact a custody case, yes. But it's actually not that common to have a restraining order between the parents which actually includes the child. It's not common for that, at all.

Even if the restraining order does include the child, the other parent can petition to modify it so they can have at least supervised visitation with the child. If all goes well, it generally leads to unsupervised visitation, and eventually the usual NCP routine.

Joint custody means little more than "both parents have physical custody at some point". It doesn't mean you have a 50/50 timeshare.