Hi. I have a 5 1/2 year old son who has never met his biological father. I am the only one on his birth certificate and he has my last name. His father has never made an attempt to contact me and because I never wanted him to have rights to him I never sought out child support. I am getting married in a year and my fiancé would like to adopt my son and for my son to have his last name. We live in California and from what I've read since my sons biological father has never contacted us and it has been so many years he no longer has any rights and going through with the adoption should be easy? Can anyone enlighten me on this situation because I still am a little in the dark about it. Do I have to make an attempt to find his biological father? Should I seek legal counsel? Or is him not being on the birth certificate enough to go through with the adoption without any bumps in the road? Thanks so much for taking the time to answer.

http://www.courts.ca.gov/partners/documents/stepparentadoption_pkg.pdf
I hope it will help you.

. We live in California and from what I've read since my sons biological father has never contacted us and it has been so many years he no longer has any rights and going through with the adoption should be easy?

Where did you read that? The bio father has rights and will have them until they are terminated. He just needs to go to court to enforce those rights.



. Do I have to make an attempt to find his biological father?

Yes, the court will require that you, at least, attempt to find and serve the bio father with notice of the adoption.


.Should I seek legal counsel? Or is him not being on the birth certificate enough to go through with the adoption without any bumps in the road?

Yes, I would not recommend doing an adoption without legal counsel. And no, his not being on the birth certificate is immaterial. As noted, the court will require that you exercise a good faith effort to find and serve him notice. What that good faith effort entails is a matter of local court procedure.