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terminate parental rights question

hollyg1920hollyg1920 member
in Single Parents

Hello ladies,

I got married in 2009 and my DH wants to adopt my son (age 10).  DS's bio dad has not seen him, made contact in 9 years and he is 19000 behind in child support (he pays $25-50 once a year...my guess is to stay off CSEA radar).

I talked to a lawyer and he said it would cost us 1000+ for him to file the paperwork, go before a judge, etc. 

DS's bio dad has stated several times he wants to terminate his rights.  Can he file to terminate his rights and we agree to it?  Or do we have to file and he agree?


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Re: terminate parental rights question

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    PrettyInPearls23PrettyInPearls23 member
    Adoption can be very tricky. I strongly urge you to retain a lawyer and have him/her guide you through the process.

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    Crenner1221Crenner1221
    In my state, you have to have a lawyer. And the step dad would have to initiate the adoption, not the bio dad. You can't have the bio dad just petition to terminate without having anyone to petition to "take his place". Also, the bio dad would still be responsible for any back child support he owes, however, you could use that as leverage and negotiate to forgive the balance if he willingly signs over his rights. They also may do extensive home studies for you and your husband. Good luck!
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    and now for something completely differentand now for something completely different

    My DH adopted our oldest child. I suggest you retain a lawyer to guide you through the process in your state. Here at least, the birth father could not sign away his rights without my child being adopted by someone else.

    In our case, we filed and my XH did not show up to the hearings, but also did not sign the consent form after being served with the adoption papers. He was behind in support and had not made any contact with my child in many years. We had to give public notice, DH had a background check, we had a home study (an hour visit), preliminary hearing and a final hearing. It cost us roughly $7500. (The best $7500 we've ever spent too.)

    Best wishes to your family throughout this process.

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    MsMonica's1stMsMonica's1st member

    check with the Court that handles the children's law in your county.  They may have a pro-se package that gives you a check list of what you need to do and all the forms you need to file in order to get the process started.  They also have paralegals that could look over your paperwork to make sure everything is in order.

     We done our adoption petition pro-se and are in the final stages of the process.  Our final court date is coming up and I feel confident in doing it ourselves rather than having an attorney present.  Also, you might look into having an attorney to look over the paperwork before you file them just to make sure everything is in order. 

     Good Luck!!

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