Preparing for the future

[MistyA]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Virginia

I'm a single mom and have 2 kids (6 & 7). When the kids were 1 & 2 we separated and when I filed for child support he skipped town and hasn't been heard of since. I suspect he is in Florida, but I have no way of contacting him (& no idea of where to start looking). Also, child support enforcement has also been unsucessfull in finding him (I believe there may be a warrant out for his arrest due to non-payment of child support).

My question has to do with what would happen to the kids if there is an accident & I pass away. I'm preparing my Last Will & Testament and plan to name my sister and her husband as the kids Guardians, but I'm worried about what could happen if the kids biological father decided to show up after the fact. If something happens to me, can my sister and her husband adopt the kids as their own (and change their last name) if the biological father can't be found? What would happen if the adoption went through & he showed up claiming parental rights for the kids? Could the adoption be overturned?

Are there any steps we can take now to avoid any potential problems in the future if the biological dad decided to show up?

 

[La-a]

A thread from this very morning:

https://forum.freeadvice.com/child-custody-visitation-37/custody-parental-rights-issue-virginia-557688.html

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Virginia

I'm a single mom and have 2 kids (6 & 7). When the kids were 1 & 2 we separated and when I filed for child support he skipped town and hasn't been heard of since. I suspect he is in Florida, but I have no way of contacting him (& no idea of where to start looking). Also, child support enforcement has also been unsucessfull in finding him (I believe there may be a warrant out for his arrest due to non-payment of child support).

My question has to do with what would happen to the kids if there is an accident & I pass away. I'm preparing my Last Will & Testament and plan to name my sister and her husband as the kids Guardians, but I'm worried about what could happen if the kids biological father decided to show up after the fact. If something happens to me, can my sister and her husband adopt the kids as their own (and change their last name) if the biological father can't be found? What would happen if the adoption went through & he showed up claiming parental rights for the kids? Could the adoption be overturned?

Are there any steps we can take now to avoid any potential problems in the future if the biological dad decided to show up?

 

[MistyA]

??

I don't understand how that post applies to what I asked. The biological dad is nowhere in the picture. I have no way of contacting him and no way of knowing if he'd agree to give up his parental rights since I can't find him.

Is there a way to take away is parental rights now? If my sister and her husband adopt the kids could he show up years later and SUCESSFULLY contest the adoption and have it overturned?

 

[La-a]

I don't understand how that post applies to what I asked. The biological dad is nowhere in the picture. I have no way of contacting him and no way of knowing if he'd agree to give up his parental rights since I can't find him.

Is there a way to take away is parental rights now? If my sister and her husband adopt the kids could he show up years later and SUCESSFULLY contest the adoption and have it overturned?

ALL of the VA code for adoption is in the links. It answers your question quite, quite thoroughly. You'd just have to read it...