Is not showing up to fight a restraining order would be considered willfully surrendering legal child custo?
Not showing up to fight a restraining order is NOT considered willfully surrendering legal custody of a child. But then again, his being the child’s father doesn’t mean he has any kind of custody in the first place. Unless you two were married at the time of birth OR he has been to court to get his rights, you automatically have custody by virtue of being the unwed birth mother. Anyway, this is what I advise. Get a lawyer and go to court. Ask for sole custody of your child (legal and residential) based the child’s father’s illegal use of drugs. And then ask for supervised visitation to be set up and child support to be paid. A dna paternity test will need to be done first to determine legal paternity. And this is the important bit. Tell the court that your ex is a drug user and FOR THE PROTECTION OF THE CHILD, you want court ordered RANDOM DRUG TESTING for him as a condition of his visitation. I doubt he will ever access his visitation if he knows it means he could get busted for illeg
