I am trying to get full custody of my daughter on the abandonment clause her biological father had nothing to do with her has not had any co...

Question

I am trying to get full custody of my daughter on the abandonment clause her biological father had nothing to do with her has not had any contact with her in over a year has refused child support payments and isn't even making any effort to get in touch with her how much would it cost about to get full custody and how can I go about doing that?

Answer

Custody issues are usually complex with each case being a little bit different also individual attorney fees can vary dramatically - so it is difficult to give you an accurate guesstimate but somewhere in the $2500 to $5500 range would be about average. Of course, if he has never paid child support and you believe you would likely never be able to collect child support, you may want to consider terminating his parental rights instead of seeking full custody. The pros are that it is usually less expensive than a custody case and you'd never have to deal with him again the cons are that you would give up the possibility of forcing him to pay child support. Best of luck to you.