[B]I have 4 kids and their dad is a illegal immigrant that has not been seen or heard of in 5 years. I want to terminate his rights as a parent for many reasons. One, my oldest daughter is 8 and my youngest is 5 they are stair steps in age, my oldest has not seem him since she was 4 and don't remember him, and 7,6 and 5 year old don't remember him at all. I have found it hard to get their passports to travel because both parents permission is necessary, I can't get child support because he does not have a social security number, and no one knows wher he is. I have no contact info for his family who are all located in the country where he's originally from. I'm ready to put this to rest and move on in life. I'm married and my husand want to adopt them, just a mental completion to our family. I have other children with my husband, and we really want to complete our entire family.I live in the state of PA, what can I do, where do I start? Please help![B]

You can't 'file for termination of the father's rights'. He has to do that himself, so you must contact him and see if he will do this before your husband can adopt his children.

You can't 'file for termination of the father's rights'. He has to do that himself, so you must contact him and see if he will do this before your husband can adopt his children.

Incorrect.

Pennsylvania has provision for involuntary TPR (http://www.legis.state.pa.us/WU01/LI/LI/CT/HTM/23/00.025.011.000..HTM).


"§ 2511. Grounds for involuntary termination.
(a) General rule.--The rights of a parent in regard to a
child may be terminated after a petition filed on any of the
following grounds:
(1) The parent by conduct continuing for a period of at
least six months immediately preceding the filing of the
petition either has evidenced a settled purpose of
relinquishing parental claim to a child or has refused or
failed to perform parental duties.
..."

Incorrect.

Pennsylvania has provision for involuntary TPR (http://www.legis.state.pa.us/WU01/LI/LI/CT/HTM/23/00.025.011.000..HTM).


"§ 2511. Grounds for involuntary termination.
(a) General rule.--The rights of a parent in regard to a
child may be terminated after a petition filed on any of the
following grounds:
(1) The parent by conduct continuing for a period of at
least six months immediately preceding the filing of the
petition either has evidenced a settled purpose of
relinquishing parental claim to a child or has refused or
failed to perform parental duties.
..."

Apologies for my incorrect answer. Who would have known it could be that simple.

Its actually not that simple. But the key here is that the husband wants to adopt. You should NOT be trying to get his rights terminated as a separate action. Instead have your husband file to adopt the children. As part of the adoption petition you will be required to make a good faith effort to get the bio father's permission. If you can show this effort with no response from the father, then the court will, very likely, grant the adoption petition.

I would suggest that you have an attorney prepare the adoption petition and your attorney will tell you what constitutes a good faith effort.