My 6 year old daughter was kidnapped by her biological mother 4 and a half years ago and taken to South Africa. After exhausting monumental international and domestic court battles, I was unable to afford to continue fight for my daughter and as a result lost her. I have also evoked the assistance of the government of both the USA and SA through the Hague Convention to assist me in maintaining some contact overseas all to no avail. Currently, I am forced to pay child support in the amount of 100.00 per week even though I am being denied ALL parental rights. I have exhausted every possible means of developing a relationship with my beloved child. All attempts to gain the cooperation of the mother has failed. She refuses to allow me even phone contact. I do not have the money to afford a lawyer and need to find emotional and financial relief.

Can you please tell me if I am legally allowed to voluntarily termination my parental rights and how I would be able to accomplish this pro se?

Thank you.

Hello father:

It's a sad, sad story. Unfortunately, I'm not going to make it any brighter. During all of your legal squabbles, somebody should have told you that giving up your parental rights doesn't have anything to do with giving up your parental obligations.

Bummer, Dude. You're obligated to pay child support. You ain't going to get out of it. Plus, I'd never, ever give up my rights to my child, even if I'm being denied them (for the present). The future hasn't happened yet.

excon

First there are legal aide lawyers that you can get for free if you are unable to afford one to help you.
Another thing is excon is correct you still have to pay child support.
What you need now is to get a good lawyer or at least some sort of legal aide to help you to see your child.

Hi father1
I can't offer advice or answers, though I really wish I could tell you what you want hear.. I just wanted to let you know I feel for you and never give up hope no matter how dim the situation seems..
I know this post doesn't help as such, but I hope it gives you strength to pursue further..
I believe good things happen to good people, sometimes it just takes a little longer..
Best of wishes to you..

I would say that if you had legal custody ( and someone without custody took the child) there is no way you would be ordered to pay child support.

Now if the bio mother had legal custody and you had visitation rights, and she just moved ( perhaps against court order) and you were ordered in the court custody to pay child support then you have to pay child support.

So if this is a court order, then yes you are obligated.

If you had legal custody of the child, and this was a true "kidnapping" then there are other things that could be done.

Also who or what agency is enforcing the child support since obviously she can't enforce it from South Africa.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by father1

My 6 year old daughter was kidnapped by her biological mother 4 and a half years ago and taken to South Africa. After exhausting monumental international and domestic court battles, I was unable to afford to continue fight for my daughter and as a result lost her. I have also evoked the assistance of the government of both the USA and SA through the Hague Convention to assist me in maintaining some contact overseas all to no avail. Currently, I am forced to pay child support in the amount of 100.00 per week even though I am being denied ALL parental rights. I have exhausted every possible means of developing a relationship with my beloved child. All attempts to gain the cooperation of the mother has failed. She refuses to allow me even phone contact. I do not have the money to afford a lawyer and need to find emotional and financial relief.

Can you please tell me if I am legally allowed to voluntarily termination my parental rights and how I would be able to accomplish this pro se?

Thank you.

---

Don't give up. You can put listing in the local papers where she resides in hope that your daughter may one day pick it up to read. Just print it as looking for daughter; state her approx. age and your contatc infomartion. She will one day ceom looking for you. Keep all documents that you have searched for her over the years for that will really mean a lot to her when she gets old enough to find her way back to you herself.