My daughter is 6 years old. Her Biological father has been in prison since she was 3 years old. He never paid child support on time. He was only a part of her life from the time she was 18 months till she was 22 months (4 months). My husband has been here since she was 2 years old.
The Bio father is in prison for violation of probation with the orginial charge of sexual abuse of 14 year old child.
He gets out in One year and 4 months.
With that kind of charge he should have never gotten Visitation rights but in the case where the family court Judge is the fathers relative (cousin) it kinda makes it hard to win.
What I am wanting to know is Can my husband legally adopt her WITHOUT the consent of the Bio Father considering the situation? Does the Bio Father still have rights even though he is in the pen and has never really been a part of her life?
Side Note: We tried this before he went to the pen and he (BF) wouldn't give up rights.
Also we live in Kentucky.
2006-08-02 17:34:37 · 9 answers · asked by Just Me 3 in Politics & Government ➔ Law & Ethics
The only way is if you can prove abandonment Get an attorney, some even give free legal advice.
And this may seem extreme, but if you think the court will be biased, maybe you should consider moving to another county.
Found this maybe it'll help
http://www.ncsconline.org/WC/Publications/StateLinks/TermPrStateLinks.htm#KY
Termination of Parental Rights
Kentucky Statute: §§600.020(2); 610.127; 625.090
Grounds: Abandonment or extreme parental disinterest, abuse/neglect, mental illness or deficiency, alcohol or drug induced incapacity, felony conviction/incarceration, failure of reasonable efforts, sexual abuse, abuse/neglect or loss of rights of another child, failure to maintain contact, failure to provide support, child’s best interest, child in care 15 of 22 months (or less), felony assault of child or sibling, murder/manslaughter of sibling child, aggravated circumstances
With the mention of sexual abuse, felony assault of child and child's best interest you might have some ground to stand on after all good luck.
Have to add one more thing: If you take this to court to try to terminate his parental rights - Leave the step-dad out of it. Allow the court to see you are doing this for the best interest of the child and not for the sole purpose of him adopting her. My husband and I had to go through a similar custody case (though we did it to gain custody not terminate rights) and our attorney told me to just sit there and keep my mouth shut no matter what. It's a case between mother and father, no outside parties.
I should clarify. Make sure the court is aware that your husband wants to be a part of the child's life, but don't make it a personal attack or allow him to do an "I'm better than you," act. Many judges can see this as an act of spite instead of something for the child's best interest.
2006-08-02 17:47:27 · answer #1 · answered by pebble 6 · 1⤊ 0⤋
You hold a lot of cards here.
You can't force him, but you might cajol him. Look, he's in jail. When he gets out, he'll be broke and on parole. No way is he going to or able to care for this child.
Make the point as friendly as you can that it's in HIS best interest to sign the papers. Sweeten the pot with some cash - maybe $200 now, and $2000 when he gets out. If you figure what a lawyer costs, that ain't bad.
Have all the documents ready (lawyer for that) and have the lawyer put out the deal, if you can't keep from getting emotional or are no good at negociating.
A guy in jail has a long time to think. He probably doesn't care about his daughter other than just to visit and know her - but not the daily grind of child raising. But he knows that adoption papers are one of the few bargaining chips he has.
So instead of beating your head against the wall, see it for what it is, a negociation. Use cash to get him to sign. You'll find out that he'll probably see ways cash can help him and that he doesn't have a chance as a father anyway.
Just an idea.
2006-08-03 00:54:10 · answer #2 · answered by Andy 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Pebble gave you the law, but I wanted to add to it. Was the child support order ever changed? If he was ordered to pay child support (and the order wasn't changed to no support while he's in prison) but he hasn't paid since he's in prison, he's racking up arrears. That gives you a little bit of leverage over him.
Tell him that, if he'll give up his rights to your daughter, you won't go after all that back support he owes. After this long, he probably owes thousands of dollars. If he won't give up parental rights, as soon as he gets out, get the state involved in collecting that money. Since he owes back support, he probably won't be able to get a license and he'll have other problems too. I know this sounds harsh, but he doesn't sound like a good person to have around a child since he's a sexual predator and all.
Another thing. If his cousin is the judge, request a different judge due to conflict of interest. You should be able to get a neutral judge instead of one who is biased for one side.
Hopefully you can get his parental rights severed because he has had no contact for so long.
There is one thing that Pebbles was mistaken about, however. You will probably have to have your husband involved in this if you want the biological father's rights terminated. Judges don't like to terminate parental rights unless there is someone else who is willing to become the parent. (They don't want to leave a child with just one legal parent.) They look for the remaining biological parent and adoptive parent to have been in a stable marriage for at least one year.
Good luck!
2006-08-03 02:25:32 · answer #3 · answered by Mama Pastafarian 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
You have equal right as him on the child. So, as long you choose to divorce with him, then you can proceed on to fight the custody of the child via the court.
But you have to proof that he is not able to give or provide an environment for the child to live.
But making him to completely lose the parental right is not possible, unless he agree to it. However, the important thing is, the child under your care not him, so it does not matter on the parental right.
So, you just need to make the court rules in favour of you, will do.
2006-08-03 00:44:35 · answer #4 · answered by shin 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Unfortunately I don't think that your husband will be able to adopt her. Her "sperm Donner" has to give up his parental rights before that can happen....even if he is in jail and sexually abused his other child. However, perhaps you could talk to child services about it. They take away kids from parents all the time without possibility of getting them back....tell them your situation and see if they have any info!
Good Luck to you.....I hope I helped!
2006-08-03 00:45:33 · answer #5 · answered by Strawberry Strawberry 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I think he still has rights as a father unless he waives them or has them taken away. Even if he is in prison.
You really should contact a lawyer, not Yahoo answers, on stuff like this.
2006-08-04 23:15:59 · answer #6 · answered by Etiquette Gal 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Similar situation here...The answer is "NO". The biological father will continue to have parental rights until he signs them away. Very sad I know...
2006-08-03 00:40:01 · answer #7 · answered by Dee Dee 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
No sorry, no court can force a biological parent to give up rights.
2006-08-03 00:39:33 · answer #8 · answered by Death 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Well that's the deal he still has rights. I'm afraid he can stop you.
2006-08-03 00:39:40 · answer #9 · answered by Stand 4 somthing Please! 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋