My daughters father has not seen or tried to be apart of her life for about 9-10 months now. I just recently moved to Texas and he is now trying to get custody of her. He is not stable and in no shape to have her living with him in Utah. Can I file for child abandoment/ or get his rights taken away and how long must the parent be absent from the child's life to do so? THANKS

For much longer then 10 months. Did you get the courts permission to move ?

There is no such thing as filing for abandonment in your case. You may use abandonment as grounds for getting something else. In your case you want to file for sole physical and legal custody.

Is he the legal father? Are there court orders in Utah giving him visitation? Did you get court permission to move?

If he has already filed in Utah for custody, then you have to deal with the Utah courts. You can counter-file for custody. But you will have to prove he is unstable and unfit. What proof do you have? How old is the child?

Oh and forget getting his rights terminated. That is rarely done and only in extreme cases. You may have left yourself wide open to losing primary custody, if you moved without getting court permission.