I live in Prince William County, Virginia. Divorced with sole custody of daughter in Maryland, Montgomery County. No idea where father is, he hasn't seen daughter since she was 2, only paid child support on a few occaissions and even then, was not the full amount. I would suspect he in arrears of more than $30-40,000. Last I heard, he was homeless and a drunk in the gutter. Need passports and daughter (15 years old) would like to change name to her new step-fathers name. Can I achieve all of this by filing for abandonment and if so, would I need to file in Montgomery County, Maryland, ot can I do it in Virginia?

Thanks

I just don't know where people get the idea that there is such a thing as "filing for abandonment". If you had checked other, similar threads you would have had an answer,

You have to file a petititon in Family Court for your husband to adopt or just for the name change. The petititon will require that you make a good faith effort to contact the father for his approval. As long as you do and he doesn't respond then his rights will be terminated. If he does respond and refuses to allow the changes, then the court will have to decide whether his failure to pay and current status, gives him a right to block the request.