Getting Sole Custody when Father is in Prison

My question involves child support in the State of: Florida
I am an unmarried mother of a 3yo whoes father is in prison for drug trafficking. I have read about Florida's new 50/50 laws regarding the leval right of both biological parents. However I have a few questions about getting sole custody. Do I need to have a lawyer? Do I have to wait until he is released to persue custody? Since he has a history of drug problems and is in prison for drugs will it be hard for me to prove I deserve sole custody?
I am not seeking child support from him because he has another child that he has a child support order and is behind. Since I dont want CS, will the courts give visitation to him?
I have met a new man wbo wants to marry me and eventually adopt my little girl. Will I neex to get sole custody before we can move out of Florida? And before my new husband can adopt?
Thank you

What are your current orders?

To answer your questions:

You may need an attorney.

No, you don't need to wait for him to get out. How long will he be in there?

Child support is completely separate - if he wants visitation once he's out, he WILL get it.

Sole custody will not allow you to move without going through the proper legal channels, nor will it enable your new husband to adopt.

We have no orders right now and he will be in for 3 years. If sole custody wont alow me to move freely or have him adopt her, what will?

Permission from the court.

(Or Dad)

Sole custody does not mean that the other parent has no rights.

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Quoting AliciaJoanne

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We have no orders right now and he will be in for 3 years. If sole custody wont alow me to move freely or have him adopt her, what will?

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If you currently have no court orders then you have sole custody already by default. Its not particularly enforceable, but you also cannot be held in contempt for things like relocating or not getting his agreement on medical or educational issues.

Im not saying I would do this, but what if I moved without permission while he was stillin prison?

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Thank you very much.

I'll let someone else answer that.

Quote:

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Quoting AliciaJoanne

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Im not saying I would do this, but what if I moved without permission while he was stillin prison?

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Thank you very much.

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There is nothing that he could do about it. The only way that any non-custodial parent can stop a custodial parent from relocating with the children is if that parent is both willing and able to assume custody themselves. A judge cannot stop the custodial parent from moving, he can only stop them from taking the children with them, which means that the judge can only stop the relocation if the non-custodial parent is available to take custody.

Thank you very much.

If the custody order requires permission to relocate, you need permission to relocate - but if dad's in prison it's normally going to be pretty simple to get permission.