My daughters father has not seen her for five years and he left us when she was only 3 months old. I do not have a child support order never received anything from him, I have no contact at all with him and I have full custody of her. Im just afraid that he will try to take her away from me later in life and I don't want her to go through that because Im with a man right now that she loves and he has been there for her pretty much since she was five months. How do I file for abandonment on him and when could I file? I live in los angeles California...

Hello l:

He's not using the rights he has, so spending money to file a lawsuit to prevent something from happening that doesn't look like it's going to happen, is a waste of time and money. Besides, there is NO such finding in the law like abandonment.

IF you get married, your husband can file to adopt your child, and at the same time terminating the rights of the father...

But, until then, with no court order in effect, he has just as much right to your child as you do.

excon