How do we get the process started for my husband to adopt my daughter if her father is unknown?

You need to find the father and he needs to relinquish rights.

In some states, (like Arizona where I am) a show of 'good faith' search is all that is needed. In other words, put an ad in the paper looking for him, and then wait to see if he responds.

You will need to have a DNA test for anyone you may have slept with around the time your daughter would have been conceived.

I beilve that if he is NOT found, and a good effort has been made to find him, the judge can relinquish rights. But don't quote me on that please. I may be wrong.

Good luck

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Originally Posted by jlsheldon

How do we get the process started for my husband to adopt my daughter if her father is unknown?

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Start the process? Interview lawyers.

Jennie pretty much laid out the process, but your lawyer is going to need to file a lot of paperwork.

Is the father truly unknown or is that just what the paperwork says? Because from a purely financial standpoint, if you know who the father is, its MUCH cheaper to find him than it is to run the ads required by the court which can cost several thousand dollars.