What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Arkansas
My husband has a four year old daughter. I have been caring for her since she was only 18 months old, since January of 2015. Her biological mother has been mostly absent since I came into the picture and from what I understand she didn't care for her daughter before I came along either.
Between January of 2015 and March of 2016 the mother saw her daughter a handful of times. She would request to see her rarely and most times cancel last minute. She would very rarely call to speak to her either. There were times she was homeless during this time and was not able to see her because of this. Believed to be homeless cause of drug abuse.
I'm March of 2016 was the last time the mother has seen her daughter. In June of 2016 she moved to New Mexico without saying goodbye. While she was away the divorce was finalized. She did not show up for the custody court date so the dad was awarded full custody, visitation at his discretion, and she's supposed to pay $62 a week in child support. The mom came back to Arkansas in January of 2017 but did not notify my husband until February that she was back in state.
After he was notified they met up to discuss visitation. He requested that she start paying child support, get a job and a house, and show that she is going to stay here in Arkansas and not run off. He asked this to keep his daughter from the heartbreak of being abandoned again. The mother failed to do any of these things for months and was hostile in messages. We had been shown messages of her buying weed, pills, and talking about shooting up. Her own mother was the one to show us these messages.
Recently he discovered the mother and her boyfriend did have a home but she failed to notify him of this. The boyfriend was just arrested on multiple drug charges, one of which was possession of meth. Now the mother is talking about leaving to go to New Mexico again. We aren't sure if this is true as of right now.
Do I have a decent chance at adopting my step daughter? Does this sound like grounds to terminate her parental rights? Her own mother is on our side and willing to help me adopt. Would that be beneficial to our case?
My husband has a four year old daughter. I have been caring for her since she was only 18 months old, since January of 2015. Her biological mother has been mostly absent since I came into the picture and from what I understand she didn't care for her daughter before I came along either.
Between January of 2015 and March of 2016 the mother saw her daughter a handful of times. She would request to see her rarely and most times cancel last minute. She would very rarely call to speak to her either. There were times she was homeless during this time and was not able to see her because of this. Believed to be homeless cause of drug abuse.
I'm March of 2016 was the last time the mother has seen her daughter. In June of 2016 she moved to New Mexico without saying goodbye. While she was away the divorce was finalized. She did not show up for the custody court date so the dad was awarded full custody, visitation at his discretion, and she's supposed to pay $62 a week in child support. The mom came back to Arkansas in January of 2017 but did not notify my husband until February that she was back in state.
After he was notified they met up to discuss visitation. He requested that she start paying child support, get a job and a house, and show that she is going to stay here in Arkansas and not run off. He asked this to keep his daughter from the heartbreak of being abandoned again. The mother failed to do any of these things for months and was hostile in messages. We had been shown messages of her buying weed, pills, and talking about shooting up. Her own mother was the one to show us these messages.
Recently he discovered the mother and her boyfriend did have a home but she failed to notify him of this. The boyfriend was just arrested on multiple drug charges, one of which was possession of meth. Now the mother is talking about leaving to go to New Mexico again. We aren't sure if this is true as of right now.
Do I have a decent chance at adopting my step daughter? Does this sound like grounds to terminate her parental rights? Her own mother is on our side and willing to help me adopt. Would that be beneficial to our case?