Do you have to wait until non custodial parents shows up to adoption hearing to contest adoption before filing Termination of Parental Rights? Will the termiantion of parental rights be filed in civil court or family court in Alameda County?

I know that the bio father is going to contest He already said so. He doesn't wish to be a father to his child but doesn't want anyone else to either. He hasn't seen him in 10 years. We have dormant custody case in Alameda County where he has never visited or made contact. Now that I mentioned adoption. He has filed for modification. Can I file petition for Termination of Parental rights in family court or do I need to file for Adoption first in the civil court?

You need to sit down with an attorney first, In most areas without an adoption it is really not possible to "take away" a bio fathers right. ( often limiting visits and the such at best)

For the adoption, it is still hard, esp if the bio father contests and shows up in court.
Let your attorney who knows the local courts tell you what is really possible locally.

Thank you! I will definitely start looking for an attorney. In the mean time I have a hearing approaching for modification. What can I ask for from the courts in my response to temporarily stop visiting pending the outcome of adoption. Visitation will be awkward being that my 10 year old has never met and doesn't know bio

First its not a good idea to piggyback your question on another thread. This can lead to confusion. So I've moved your question to its own thread.

You file for a TPR as part of the Adoption petition. So it should be in Family Court. It is not done separately.

Is this a step parent adoption? If either of the parents. Show up to protest, the adoption is unlikely to go through. If you are doing this through and attorney you really should.

Thank you for moving my thread and for the information on piggy back Its my first time on here so I was not aware.

Yes it is a step parent adoption. In Alameda County I was told by family court they do not handle adoption proceedings and that it was apart of civil. With that being said would they have the same rules regarding TPR and adoption as family court would?

I am in the process of looking for an attorney. Its been very hard since a lot have limited practice in the scope of contested step parent adoptions.

... I was told by family court they do not handle adoption proceedings and that it was apart of civil. With that being said would they have the same rules regarding TPR and adoption as family court would? ...


The question doesn't really make sense. The court that does handle adoptions would have it's own rules. These rules may be similar, but they may diverge in any number of ways. It would be best to find and become familiar with such rules.

Any attorney admitted to practice in California should be able to help you. It's a simple matter for a reasonably competent lawyer to review the applicable rules and statutes and bring himorherself up to speed.

Its been very hard since a lot have limited practice in the scope of contested step parent adoptions.

This site might help you. http://www.honjaslaw.com/lawyer-attorney-1323872.html

But in my experience if the parent being replaced refuses to allow the adoption and actively fights it, it won't be granted.

I also found another site that stated that the forms can be filed in any court, and they will be forwarded to the correct court.

You first need to go through with the custody portion of your case first before trying to move forward with an adoption. If you don't then you may lose custody altogether. All custody cases get at least 1 chance at mediation (mandatory) and you can express your concerns there. There also needs to be plans in place for reunification if there has never been contact. What custody arrangement is he asking for?