Legal Question in Family Law in California

Re: Terminating non-custodial parental rights

Dear Inquirer:

Nothing herein shall create an attorney-client relationship, unless a written retainer agreement is executed by the attorney and client. This communication contains general information only. Nothing herein shall constitute an attorney-client communication nor legal advice. There likely are deadlines and time-limits associated with your case; you should contact an attorney of your choice for legal advice specific to your personal situation, at once.

If you haven't already done so, please visit my

web site at --

http://home.pacbell.net/edbjr/ OR

http://www.CaliforniaDivorceAttorney.com

The site contains quite a bit of general information about California Family Law, Tenants' Rights, and Juvenile Dependencies, as well as information about me (education, experience, et cetera) and my office (location, hours, fees, policies).

NOW, IN RESPONSE TO YOUR INQUIRY --

Father's parental rights may be terminated for willful failure to support the child(ren) or for abandonment. I do not recommend trying to do so without the assistance of an attorney who is thoroughly experienced in step-parent adoptions.

Thanks for sharing your interesting inquiry with us on LawGuru, and good luck with your case.

Re: Terminating non-custodial parental rights

With or without a lawyer, you cannot make him give up his parental rights. You can change the custody arrangement, and perhaps negotiate for the adoption, but forcing an adoption would be difficult.

The local social services agency may curtail his visitation/custody rights based on his drug use.