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MadiMommy · Nov 29, 2011, 07:37 PM

I have a 20 month old son with a man in prison, he has never met him and I don't want him to. I am now married to someone else and expecting a child with him. I am curious as to how I would get the man in prison to sign over his rights and what processes I have to go through.

Fr_Chuck · Nov 29, 2011, 08:10 PM

He either will or will not sign over his rights willingly. So your attoreny who is doing the adoption paper work sends him the papers and asks him to sign it.

Depending on where you are at, ( if in the US each state has different laws) but in many long term prison can be a reason to take his rights away, Also you attempt in court to prove it is in the child's best interest.

With that said, if he does not have a long prison term ( you did not say how many years he is doing) but he can defend his self in court and fight losing his rights. In that, if you can not take his rights away, when he gets out of prison, he will be able to get visits rights, even if they are supervised.

sunnyd98 · Nov 29, 2011, 08:25 PM

Has the man in prison ever voiced any interst in knowing his son? How long will he be in prison? Is he ordered to pay child support? The courts are hesitant to just terminate a parents rights they do not like to leave a child fatherless and leave the mother to be the only provider. If your husband is willing to adopt your son they will look more favorably on it. This means your son would have a father and someone besides the mother would be fincially responsible. The easiest way to go about it is if the bio dad will sign over his rights willingly. Sometimes people play the support card to get them to willingly do it. Meaning you may tell him that if he does this you will never pursue him for support. Tbe other way is to legally ask for a termination through the courts. Then it will be up to the courts to decide if it is in your sons best interest. One of the things they will look at is how much of your sons life will the bio dad be imprisoned, as well as what kind of relationship if any did he have with your son in the past. If he had none is it because he couldn't or did he choose not to. Has he ever helped support your son in anyway is another thing they will take into consideration. Either way you will need a attorney, but the easiest way is for him to willingly terminate his rights, it can be a long hard battle if he refuses and the court has to decide. Good luck to you... I am going through kind of the same thing.

MadiMommy · Nov 29, 2011, 09:58 PM

The man in prison is in there for some drug related charges. He is a registered sex offender and has a 6 year old daughter from a previous marriage that he only recently met. He has been in and out of prison/jail for probably about ten years and I just don't think that would be in my sons best interest to have him around. My husband wants to adopt him and loves him just as his own. My son has only known my husband as dad, he doesn't even know another man exists.
How do I start the process? I've read online about willing termination. I'm in the process of asking him to do it. But don't know what the steps really are.

ScottGem · Nov 30, 2011, 04:23 AM

You are going at this backwards. Start the adoption proceedings. Get an attorney to prepare the petition for adoption. As part of that petition will be a request to relinquish rights. Don't try to get his rights terminated separately.

sunnyd98 · Nov 30, 2011, 06:13 AM

Which ever way you to decide to proceed your bet is to do so with a attorney, a lot of them will do free consultations. Find one who handles adoption and see how he/she recommends handling it. It does sound like it would be in your sons best interest so good luck.