adoption when other parent pays no support

[chrissy]

Hello I live in Florida, I have a question that really concerns me. I have a 5 year old little girl that has not seen her biological father but 2 times in her life, he has never payed a dime in any kind of support, has never sent her anything basically doesn't want anything to do with her,why should he have a say so if my fiance wants to adopt her?
How would I go about contacting him to have him give his rights up as her biological father when he hasn't notified me of where he is. He has our address and phone number the only time he has called was to stir things up between my fiance and I. Someone please explain to me why he has rights to a child he has nothing to do with!!!!!!!

 

[ROBINRAZ]

He has rights because he is this child's biological parent. If he signed the birth certificate, he is the father, therefore has rights when it comes to the child. Paying child support or lack of, does not make him more or less the father. In many states, not paying child support would not even take away the fathers rights to visit the child.

Good luck!
R

 

[sandyk]

You should check with the Superior Court (Clerks office)in the county in which you live. I live in California (Los Angeles County). In CA, you can petition the court to terminate the absent parents rights under either "Abandonment" (parent has not paid child support OR has not communicated with the child in over a year, or you can petition for "Willful failure to provide" in which the parent has not paid and has not communicated with the child in over a year. Your state should have something similar.
You may want to check on line to see if someone in your state has published a book on this. NOLO Press has a book for California called "How to Adopt your Stepchild". They may offer one for FL. If you can use the "Abandonment" or "Willful Failure", and if the court determines in your favor, the father's rights can be terminated so that you do not need his approval for the adoption.

Good Luck.

 

[Nyrolac]

I also reside in FL. I hope listing this web site doesn't get me in troble, but they may help you,( http://www.ablelegalforms.com) I was able to copy the proper forms, and get steps on how to proceed with stepparent adoption. The title on my 1st sheet is " Uncontested Florida Stepparent Adoption w/ Consents or Non-custodial Parent Missing(Whereabouts unkown after Conducting a Diligent Search). It even tells you how to go about that deligent search for MIA Parent. GOOD LUCK. I hope this helps you and your family.