I live with my husband and I have my daughter,which is not his biologically,but I also have a son that is his,so I was wondering if it is that he could adopt her without the father's consent,keeping in mind that her father is nowhere to be found.
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I live with my husband and I have my daughter,which is not his biologically,but I also have a son that is his,so I was wondering if it is that he could adopt her without the father's consent,keeping in mind that her father is nowhere to be found.
I don't know what state you live in but in California it is possible. My daughter's biological father was not around. He came around for a very short period when she was 4 but that didn't last. I got married when she was 7 and my husband wanted to adopt her. Our attorney said that if we didn't know where he was, then all we had to do was publish in a news paper (almost any one) that we were looking for him for a couple of weeks and if he didn't respond, we could go forward with the adoption. Talk to a family law attorney, they can explain it in more detail. Good Luck!
Your attorney has to make every reasonable attempt to serve the baby's father notice prior to the adoption proceedings.
The court will require that you try to contact him, You will have to show where an effort was made to contact him ( do you know where his parents are, other relations)
An attempt to send him legal service to his last known address ( and the service company will also try to locate him) After that it would be published in the local paper as a form of service.
After that a court date is set for a hearing and a judge will rule on it.
So you will need an attorney and of course enough money to do the legal filings, the cost of the service and the lawyer and court
The adoption laws very from state to state. You need to look in the phone book for a family lawyer,they can advise you on what to do legally. Though think long and hard about your decision to have someone else adopt your child,sometimes it doesn't help anything and the child too must have a say. I don't know how old your child is or why you've chosen to do this.. just proceed w/caution. Is this a life long relationship? What will two absent fathers help?
If you answered yae it's a true life long relationship and the child is still young trust your heart.
I would say yes, your husband can adopt, but in this state, the parent needs to be found and given the opportunity to either terminate their right to the child, or claim that right to the child. You need to prove your efforts to contact this man to the courts, so the judge can make the best decision. Otherwise you might have someone show up in a few years claiming no knowledge of anything and what a mess that would be!Quote:
Originally Posted by sfl1602
Good luck!
He can petition the court to adopt your daughter. The court would make every good faith attempt to locate the biological father to get his consent (or compel you to present evidence of having done so yourselves.) If he is, in fact, nowhere to be found after all reasonable avenues have been exhausted, then the adoption can proceed without his consent.
I Have Been Through This And I Have Had The Same Problem. My Dad Legally Adopted Me The Year Before I Went To High School... you Have To Go Through The Courts And Everything And Sign Papers... and You Don't Need The Biological Fathers Permission. It's a Pretty Simple Process!!
We never had to contact my real fatherQuote:
Originally Posted by Fr_Chuck
Here is an example from the state of Michnigan .... in the reading it does mention a Supreme courts ruling on the topic...this is only an example and a help in your need for comfort...
A MAN IS NOT ENTITLED TO THE RIGHTS OF PARENTING TIME UNDER THE EQUITABLE PARENTING DOCTRINE WHEN HE IS NOT THE BIOLOGICAL FATHER, WAS NOT MARRIED TO THE MOTHER AT TIME OF CONCEPTION OR BIRTH AND AN ACKNOWLEDGMENT OF PARENTHOOD HAS NOT BEEN SIGNED OR BEEN REVOKED By Judge Susan L. Dobrich
KILLINGBECK, et al. V KILLINGBECK, (Published, #258358) Michigan Court of Appeals, December 6, 2005
Domestic Relations Review
Return to Calhoun County Courts Home Page
Plaintiff mother and defendant were involved for a number of years before the child this matter is concerning was born. Before the child’s birth, both parties agreed to move in together and raise their child together. Both parties believing the minor child to be defendant’s biological child, the couple filed an acknowledgment of parentage. In early 2002, the couple began having marital problems and plaintiff mother filed for a divorce in September of that year. In October, 2002, when child was four years of age, plaintiff mother informed plaintiff Rosebrugh, a former boyfriend, that she believed he was the father of said child. A paternity test was performed and it revealed that plaintiff Rosebrugh was indeed the biological father. While plaintiff mother knew of the results, she still stipulated to the entry of a judgment of divorce in May of 2003 which named defendant as the child’s father, awarding joint legal custody and liberal parenting time, as well as an order to pay child support. In October of 2003, plaintiff Rosebrugh and plaintiff mother filed a petition to revoke the acknowledgment of parentage that had been co-signed by defendant. On March 17, 2004 the trial court entered two orders concerning this matter: (1) an order in the paternity case revoking acknowledgment of parentage because defendant had not fathered the child, and amending the child’s birth certificate to reflect that plaintiff Rosebrugh was the biological father, and (2) an order in the divorce case providing that defendant continue to have rights of a “de facto father” and that any request by plaintiff Rosebrugh regarding parenting time, support and custody shall not diminish the rights of defendant. Plaintiffs then appealed, with the primary issue being the trial court’s order granting parenting time to defendant, along with an order revoking the acknowledgment of parentage.
The equitable parent theory allows a man that is not the biological father of a child to still be considered a parent if the child was born during the man’s marriage to the child’s mother. The Court of Appeals ruled that the equitable parent doctrine did not provide the defendant visitation because the child was not born or conceived during the man’s marriage to the child’s mother. The Court of Appeals stated that the Supreme Court has explicitly rejected the extension of the equitable parent doctrine outside the context of marriage. However, the court also said that the man would have been entitled to parenting time if his acknowledgment of parentage had not been revoked.
the source of this documention is from a website address:
http://courts.co.calhoun.mi.us/06dom001.htm
I don't know the specifics of your situation and I'll bet you don't know all of them either. If what you are saying is true, then there had to be additional circumstances. Most courts will not grant adoption to a step parent unless the biological parent relinquishes their rights.Quote:
Originally Posted by MJ6216
I thnk he has to be found and give his written and perhaps verbal consent. For example, let's say a Court approves it without his consent (which is very highly unlikely), then the natural father appears from somewhere and wants his rights back. I cannot believe a Court would ever do this unless he's been missing and perhaps on the verge of being declared legally deceased. Even then, I think the court would wait for that to occur before allowing the adoption.Quote:
Originally Posted by sfl1602
I think he's has to consent otherwise it wouldn't be a legal adoption. Does he know he's the father? Also you may to to court if he knows he's the father and has nothing to do with the child and get his parental rights terminated due to enbandonmentQuote:
Originally Posted by sfl1602
A court might allow an adoption without the biological parent's consent if all efforts to find that parent have been exhausted.
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