Getting Sole Custody of Child
My daughter is 9 years old. Her biological father has not seen her for 5 years. When he was seeing her then, he would promise to be there at a certain time and not show up, he would go months and months with no contact, and then suddenly want to see her, etc. We split up when she was 3 and from that time until now, he paid $200 in child support. Now, he suddenly wants to see her, e-mail, build a relationship with her, and pay child support. He has just recently sent $300 and has e-mailed a few times.
The father and I were never married, and neither has a court order for custody. However, I have had physical custody of my daughter for her entire life. Frankly, she does not know her father at all... other than what I tell her, which are the small positive aspects of his character. When my daughter was 16 months old, her father and I were separated and he took her from me. Because he had shoved me at the time and was arrested for domestic violence, I got her back a day later. What I'm afraid of now is that he will try to get close to her again and either disappoint by not showing up, or try to take her again. This would be horrible for her, as she is very much a mommy's girl, and like I said, doesn't know him.
What are my chances of receiving sole custody of my child if I go to court? I don't want her father to have any legal visitation. It's not that I don't want him to see her or vice versa, but I don't trust him to actually be there for her full-time. I feel like he will do more harm than good by being in and out of her life back and forth than he would if he were just out of her life completely. Thoughts or opinions?
