Hi my name is mary, I live in nj. I have a 12 year old daughter from my previous marriage and I recently remarried. My new husband wants to adopt my daughter and we need to know how to go about the adoption. My ex took off and nobody knows where he is, he hasn't paid child support in over 10 years because we can't find him. He owes over $32,000. I was told that after 3 years of no contact or payment of child support, he has lost fathers rights. Is this true? I was also told that since its been so long I do not have to get his approval to my daughter being adopted my new husband. Can you please tell me what the law states about a situation like this. Again I live in nj. Thank you if you can help. Mary

I'm not sure if the same law applies in NJ. But in my case, in order to adopt my son and have my husband adopt my daughters, we both had to place an ad in the local paper with a notice of intent to adopt, even though both biological parents had been out of the picture for years, and even though It was very unlikely that either of them would be reading the local paper. The had had to run 3 days and then after it was unanswered, the adoption proceedings went uncontested.
Here is a link to NJ statues, perhaps you can find something there. Good luck to you http://lis.njleg.state.nj.us/cgi-bin...TOC_Frame_Pg42

Hi,
If you will contact a Lawyer in your state, it won't cost that much to be sure of what to do in this case; being advised by a Professional. I am not a lawyer, but would surely consult with one before adopting another man's child. The lawyer would be able to tell you what to do.