Legal Question in Family Law in California
Child Abandonment
I have a 5 year old son with my ex-boyfriend. This man has paid child suport a few times over the past few years. As of now he owes almost $15,000 in back child support. He has never lived with his son. He showed up for his visitation 2 out of 10 times, for maybe 2 months. He was recently incarcerated for less than a year. Last he saw his son it was for 10 minutes in November 2002. Before that it had been at least 9 months if not a year. My son was nervous and scared last time his so called father made contact. I now have a husband who has financially & emotionally supported my son since he was 1 1/2. I would like to charge this man with Child Abandonment. My son wants to know why he does not have the same name as his brother, me & my husband. Therefore my new husband wants to adopt my son. Can I do this and how do I go about doing this? Please help me!!!!!!
4 Answers from Attorneys
Re: Child Abandonment
You may be able to proceed with a step-parent adoption if your husband is interested to adopt your son from previous relationship. If father of the child participates to termination of parental relationship the step parent adoption would not difficult. And if Father does nto agree to terminate his parental relationship voluntarily then we could file a motion with the court and request the same. If you need assistance with step-parent adoption then please contact my office at 310-839-7700 and ask for an initial office consultation (free).
Sincerely,
Nina Gohari
Re: Child Abandonment
Much more info is needed to answer your questions. Also, do you have a child support order given by the court. If so, go to DA. Child support payments do not necessarily coincide with parental rights. Contact attorney. Yes, the child will learn who his real father is over time, however, you should properly handle this through counsel.
Re: Child Abandonment
to adequately answer your question(s), i would need further clarification on some of the information you submitted along with your inquirey. if you would like to email me directly with your contact information, i would be more than happy to give you a free phone consultation regarding all of this.
Reply: Child Abandonment
In order to have your present husband adopt your son from a former relationship, you will either need the biological father's written consent, or you will need to terminate his parental rights, which can be done if he has failed to contact or support his child for 12 consecutive months.
I suggest that you consult with an experienced family law lawyer. Experience is not expensive, it's priceless!
You will find some valuable information on various family law issues at my web site.
Good luck to you!
Brian Levy, Esq.
www.calattorney.com
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