Legal Question in Family Law in California
Abandonment
After divorce 10 years ago wifes ex was scheduled to pay Child Support but stopped paying after first year. He moved out of state to avoid paying. He has not made contact in 7 years with children. Recently DA caught up with him and he was garnished for 2 payments. Now he wants visitation rights.
Can we file abondonment and gain full custody?
Can we prevent the visitations???
2 Answers from Attorneys
Re: Abandonment
Why deprive this child (or children) of contact with their father now that he is finally willing to visit? Regardless of his past irresponsible behavior, unless he is going to harm the child(ren), he should visit with them so they know he does care.
Re: Abandonment
In California if a parent does not provide support or have contact with a child for a period of twelve months the court can find that the parent abandoned the child. In your case father is now paying some support. This would reduce the probability of success in an attempt to terminate his parental rights. You may be able to get him to agree to give up his parental rights in exchange for the back support being canceled. Usually the court will not terminate parental rights unless the child will be adopted by a step parent.
You should carefully examin your motivation for desiring this action, the child's desire and the child's best interests.
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