Legal Question in Family Law in Pennsylvania
child custody
my son wants adopt his fiances daughter who is 4 yrs old. her father has had no contact with her in over 9 months. he has not paid child support in this either. he is over $7000 behind in support. he keeps moving from state to state so the domestic relations dept. cant find him. can my son adopt her without biological fathers consent? any help would be appreciated. thank you
2 Answers from Attorneys
Re: child custody
No. If the dad won't give consent his rights will have to be terminated involuntarily. In either case the father will have to be contacted. Getting out of child support might be a good carrot to get him to do it voluntarily.
However, any adoption prior to your son's marriage to the child's mom is premature. They need to get married first. Otherwise the child's will have to terminate her parental rights for your son to adopt the child before they are married. If the adoption happens after the marriage her parental rights are terminated but at the same time she becomes the child's adoptive mother.
If you have any questions feel free to contact me. The initial consultation is free.
{John}
Re: child custody
From the information you provided, it would appear that you would have a basis for involuntarily terminating his parenting rights. It would be important to know where he is, for purposes of service of the legal paperwork, otherwise, we would have to seek court permission to serve him in another manner, which would cost more. I have offices throughtout the Philadelphia region. Please call for a consultation.
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