Need Sole Custody of Daughter

[NeedSoleCustody]

I really need someone's help on this one...here we go, I will give as many details as possible. Bare with me....
I have a 4 year old daughter. Her birth certificate has both parents listed and she was born in MA. During the time we lived in MA I had a restraining order put on him for physical violence but never continued it. I wish now that he had but that's besides the point. His family is very unstable and is constantly being arrested for various charges. They live off of the system and that's their way of life and he uses their "benefits" to his advantage when he can i.e. housing, food stamps...etc.
Her father and I moved to VA before she turned 2. A year later we split up and he moved back to MA. A week later my daughter and I moved to KS, where I'm from. *side note- we were never married* I never attempted to collect any sort of child support due to his track record with a previous child of his. He has been pretty bad about keeping the payments current with that child and I would rather him step back out of my daughter's life and let me raise her myself. It has been 16 months since we moved apart and he hasn't attempted once to visit KS to see her. He has however given me 4 different dates in which he's going to visit and he never shows. I have began to date and so has he. My daughter doesn't even know who he is anymore and it's easier and/or less confusing for her if it stays that way. She does however consider my boyfriend her father and he has taken on that role quite well. So....the question is...do I have a shot at sole custody? He is saying (once again) that he is going to file for visitation and have her some holidays and during the summer. I would die if that happened. To send her to MA with him and his unstable family would be horrible. I don't have the money to take him to court right now to gain the sole custody but I'm saving to do so. I really need to know if I have a shot even. Plus, could I fight it in KS or would I have to go to MA since it's a Commonwealth, they have crazy laws so I would like to know financially what I'm getting into.
Thanks! NeedSoleCustody

 

[garykittrell68]

I believe that you have been in KS long enough to establish legal residency. You will need to go to your local court and file for sole custody. The court will require you to have the childs Father served. You could pay a fee and have the police of his residency serve him, or you could have someone you know who is not a party to the case serve him. If you can't locate him then take an ad out in the local paper of his residency anouncing the court action. This may be a very time consuming process. I would also contact the ploice of his residency and find out what you would need to do to get copies of all police reports involving him for the last 5 years.
Check with your court in KS......I bet they have legal aid, or low cost legal services for low income people.
Do not continue on much longer without a court order..........If he takes the kid back to MA you could have some real problems getting her back to KS without a court order.
Good luck

Gary