i think hiring an attorney is a good move simply because he/she knows all the ropes. or otherwise, imagine this: she attempts to do this on her own, father will hire an attorney and she won't get what she wants. however, in parental rights cases, the Court most likely will appoint Guardian at Litem, an attorney who will be there for the child and will decide what is in the child's best interest. As  I tell a lot of our clients in child support case, it's not about fairness unfortunately with law. Filing for Contempt for failure to pay child support is important because it shows the Court what kind of father the guy is. However, the Court won't necessary take this into consideration. i'll check on our grounds for taking parental rights away when that attorney gets in the office.