I currently have been taking care of my daughter for the past two years. She currently lives with me. I have never had any custody papers on her. But, I would like to get them. Joint custody and I want the physical custody part of it. She is currently attending school here and has been for the entire duration of her stay. I live in Utah and her mother lives in Nevada. Her mother sent her to me when she had to turn herself in for incarceration. Is there a way to get the type of custody I desire here in the courts of Utah without having to travel to Nevada for any court work? I have been fearful of sending her back to her mother, for fear she may not be returned. I would like Utah to be my daughters primary residence.

If you have never had custody papers the there hasn't been jurisdiction established other then birth and where the child lives. Right now since the child has been with you for 2 years that should be enough to satisfy residency requirements of Utah. So you may file in your home state for custody. But a few things need to be asked so your question can be answered.
1) were you and the mom married ?

2) if not married are you on the birth certificate or signed a voluntary decleration of paternity ?

Answering those would assist in recommending the steps your going to need to take for custody. But to answer your question as to where you would file it should be in Utah where you currently live.

If you have never had custody papers the there hasnt been jurisdiction established other then birth and where the child lives. Right now since the child has been with you for 2 years that should be enough to satisfy residency requirements of Utah. So you may file in your home state for custody. But a few things need to be asked so your question can be answered.
1) were you and the mom married ?

2) if not married are you on the birth certificate or signed a voluntary decleration of paternity ?

Answering those would assist in recomending the steps your going to need to take for custody. But to answer your question as to where you would file it should be in Utah where you currently live.


I HATE it when you beat me to it!

As you can note, you should be able to file in your location, but why joint ? And you need to address the questions raised by others

I currently have been taking care of my daughter for the past two years. She currently lives with me. I have never had any custody papers on her. But, I would like to get them. Joint custody and I want the physical custody part of it. She is currently attending school here and has been for the entire duration of her stay. I live in Utah and her mother lives in Nevada. Her mother sent her to me when she had to turn herself in for incarceration. Is there a way to get the type of custody I desire here in the courts of Utah without having to travel to Nevada for any court work? I have been fearful of sending her back to her mother, for fear she may not be returned. I would like Utah to be my daughters primary residence.

If there is no existing custody order, you can (and in fact you are required to) file in Utah. This is because Utah has become what we refer to as the child's "home state" under the Uniform Child Custody Jurisdiction and Enforcement Act (UCCJEA). Had there been custody orders from say Nevada, and mom continued to reside there (even if incarcerated), then you would have had to file in Nevada for a modification.

Custody orders need to arise out of some underlying action in which your parentage is established (whether married or not when the child was conceived), so consider some sort of action (divorce, legal separation, action to establish parentage, action for custody and support), whatever might be applicable to your situation. But again, custody jurisdiction is not an issue in Utah as long as you are not modifying an order from another state in which the co-parent still resides.