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Needinghelp0039 · May 2, 2011, 08:13 AM

{Moderators Note: Moved to Family Law}

I live in Clay City ky, My son's dad has been gone now for over four years. We have never established custody however; he is not on the birth certificate. He has not tried to see my little boy, and we have absolutely no idea where he is at. Is it possible for me to file child abandonment charges on his dad in powell county and what all do I have to do to file them. I am scared that he will see the baby and try one day to take him without my knowledge. The only thing that I know about him is that he is definently not in the state of ky anymore. Any advice given would be greatly appreciated. Thank you sincerely

kcomissiong · May 9, 2011, 04:39 PM

First, this is a leal question and it needed to be asked in the family law forum. If you had posted there, you would have seen the sticky rearding terminating parental rights. Long story short, you cannot file charges against him. In some states, you may use abandonment as a means to an end, such as making a determination of custody (which you should do if you have not already done so), but you cannot "file charges" of abandonment because a parent fails to support a child. You also cannot have the father's parental rights terminated because you want them to be. Courts very rarely terminate parental rights unless it is to facilitate an adoption and even then, it is diffiult to do involuntarily. If you are truly afraid of kidnapping, terminating his rights won't stop him. However, he has all the sme rights that you do unless you petition the court for sol custody.

ScottGem · May 9, 2011, 05:23 PM

As noted, abandonment is grounds for obtaining something else. But courts are very reluctant to terminate parental rights and are not likely to do so in your situation. Since he is not exercising his rights, there is little to gain by terminating them.

If you remarry and what the step father to adopt then you might get a TPR.

Fr_Chuck · May 9, 2011, 06:34 PM

Several issues

First he can not just take the child without your permission at this point if he is not on the birth certificate and does not have a custody agreement.

So unless he files and takes you to court, he has no current ability, and his only right at this point is the right to take you to court.

If you want to take him to court and use the fact he has had no contact, you can ask for full custody and no visits, but he can always counter file asking for various rights