[Megneim]

Can a father sign his rights over,if so how can i go about doing this? I'm a single mother,my son is now almost 3 1/2yrs old the father has not been in his life for the last 3 yrs. Im a sick mother n for my peace of mind id like to have full custody of my son,since his father isnt around and said he would sign his rights over if i send him the paper.....So how do i go about having him sign his rights over to me?
thank you :)

[ScottGem]

If you had spent just a few minutes browsing around this forum before posting you would have had your answer.

A parent can't just sign over their rights. Only a court can issue a Termination of Parental Rights (TPR) and courts are VERY reluctant to do so. Generally they will only do so to clear the way for adoption or if the father is a danger to the child.

You don't need a TPR to get full custody. You can go to court to modify the existing custody order to give you full legal and physical custody. But that isn't what you really want. I think what you want is to control who will be the guardian of your child should you die.

As it stands now, the father would be able to step in and gain custody. The question is would he? You can specify in your will who gets guardianship of the child. But that will not stand up to a challenge. If the bio father says he wants his child he will, most likely get the child. But, if you think he doesn't want the child and won't challenge your will then go ahead.