Legal Question in Family Law in California
I received an order for child support in Arkansas for my two children. Dad has not paid in over a year, and had not paid a year before making 5 payments. When he started making payments again, I told him that if he dropped off the scene again, I would go forward with a request to terminate his parental rights. He said he understood - that he can't bop in and out of their lives. I have no way of contacting him, and have remarried. My children know only their stepfather as daddy because their bio dad has been too busy doing drugs and drinking to contact them or pay support. I want to terminate his rights and my new husband to adopt the children. New husband fully understands that this would obligate him to pay child support should we split up, and I know I would have to share custody with him. Having said that, I cannot figure out where to file what. Does Arkansas have jurisdiction over the termination and California over the adoption, or can I do both in California?
1 Answer from Attorneys
It depends on how long the children have been here. If you have been in California a couple of years, I would go ahead and file here. Over time the gravity (for lack of a better word) shifts and it is a case by case analysis weighing the nexus between the children and the state. The longer they are in their new state the more they have ties to it. I would simply file here and let the father fight jurisdiction. The fact is you and the kids are here and as long as you didn't abduct them, California should be the more convenient forum. So short answer is California should have jurisdiction over both issues. The termination of parental rights would be done with the adoption proceedings.
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