Legal Question in Family Law in California
I'm in California and in the process of adopting a baby we have had for 9 months. The birthmom has signed the papers and the birthfather is unknown. We submitted the finalization paperwork and it was rejected the first time because the Judge wanted more info on teh birthfather. We got a declaration from the birthmom saying she has no idea who the birthfather is and that is could in fact be more thanone person. We resubmitted the paperwork and it was denied again saying "the declaration is totally devoid of any information that could be used to help find the father to give him notice." How do you find an unknown person?
1 Answer from Attorneys
I am not a doctor, but I am pretty sure the father cannot be more than one person. Obviously the judge wants the mother to exercise due diligence in locating the father. She should take reasonable steps to find the father. At some point the judge may determine that the mother has done enough to find the father and sign off. The mother should be able to name all of the potential fathers and then is it time for paternity testing. If the list includes dozens of names maybe the judge may take that into consideration.As the person adopting the child you should want to find the father. Otherwise, the father may show up some day and attempt to exercise his parental rights.
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