That does not bode well for you, if in fact the child will be in the courtroom at the same time you and the judge assigned to your case are in the courtroom (although it is not a common occurrence for children to be in the courtroom with a parent during child custody proceedings).
If a child is 3 years old and doesn’t recognize his/her parent, that raises the question of why?
Even if your explanation is “because the other parent hid/kept the child away from me!” and the explanation is in fact true, that’s a tough sell. Unless you have extremely good evidence proof to back your explanation, the court is likely to treat such a claim with skepticism (and can you blame it?). Be prepared to show that you bent over backward and moved heaven and earth trying to find, stay in contact with, and to care for your child (easier said than done, I get it, but that’s the way the system works); otherwise, the court is likely to conclude you are a flaky, absentee parent.
And if you are found to be a flaky, absentee parent, your odds of winning sole custody are slim to none, and your odds of winning joint custody aren’t much better.
Utah Family Law, LC | divorceutah.com | 801-466-9277