Ask Me Help Desk - Child Abandonment

I live in Idaho and my daughter just turned 3 years old this month. I haven't heard from her father since he tried signing over his rights in 2010. He is suppose to be paying child support but I haven't received a dime from him and last I heard he was living with his parents, didn't have a job and he was on dialysis for his kidneys due to his diabetes. He hasn't tried contacting me or seeing his daughter. I'm getting married sometime next year and was seeing about filing child abondenment on her father as he apparently wants nothing to do with her. What is my best option?

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Originally Posted by Kcreager91

I live in Idaho and my daughter just turned 3 years old this month. I haven't heard from her father since he tried signing over his rights in 2010. He is suppose to be paying child support but I haven't received a dime from him and last I heard he was living with his parents, didn't have a job and he was on dialysis for his kidneys due to his diabetes. He hasn't tried contacting me or seeing his daughter. I'm getting married sometime next year and was seeing about filing child abondenment on her father as he apparently wants nothing to do with her. What is my best option?

The grounds for abandonment in Idaho are: the prolonged abuse or neglect of the child; if the parent's whereabouts are undetermined for at least one year; if the parent is unable to discharge parental responsibilities including financial support; if the parent is incarcerated and will be for a long period of time; or the parent has subjected the child to rape or torture.

You would have to go to your local Court which handles family matters and file the paperwork there.

Is the father collecting Social Security disability? Depending on his dialysis schedule it might be very difficult or impossible for him to work. He may very well not be able to travel. The Court will take those issues into consideration.

After you are married for a year your husband can adopt the child with the consent of the birth father.

You don't file for abandonment. You file for adoption and, if the father won't agree to allow it, then you use abandonment as the grounds.

But if he tried to give up his rights before, then he should be willing now.

So get yourself an attorney, wait until he qualifies for a step parent adoption and file for the adoption.

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Originally Posted by JudyKayTee

The grounds for abandonment in Idaho are: the prolonged abuse or neglect of the child; if the parent's whereabouts are undetermined for at least one year; if the parent is unable to discharge parental responsibilities including financial support; if the parent is incarcerated and will be for a long period of time; or the parent has subjected the child to rape or torture.

You would have to go to your local Court which handles family matters and file the paperwork there.

Is the father collecting Social Security disability? Depending on his dialysis schedule it might be very difficult or impossible for him to work. He may very well not be able to travel. The Court will take those issues into consideration.

After you are married for a year your husband can adopt the child with the consent of the birth father.

He gets disability from what I was told from his brother. His brother stays contacted to me because she is his niece, as he always says to me, and he feels bad that everyone else in his family doesn't care and doesn't want to see her. Thank you for the info. I will go talk to my daughters uncle an see what else is going on.

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Originally Posted by ScottGem

You don't file for abandonment. You file for adoption and, if the father won't agree to allow it, then you use abandonment as the grounds.

But if he tried to give up his rights before, then he should be willing now.

So get yourself an attorney, wait until he qualifies for a step parent adoption and file for the adoption.

Okay. I will try that. Thank you.