Legal Question in Family Law in Indiana

Adoption of a child by a step parent

My daughter is three and hasn't seen her father in two years. He signed the birth certificate, but has had no contact with her or I in 23 months. I do not know of his current location (state or city). He has never paid child support. My current fiance would like to adopt her, but we are wondering how to proceed in the best way possible. Are there steps I should take before we are married to make the process easier, (like terminating parental rights), or should we just proceed with step parent adoption once we are married. Will it matter in the case of an adoption if the biological parent has or has not given up parental rights? What steps must be taken in order to contact the other parent?


Asked on 12/04/06, 3:28 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys

Re: Adoption of a child by a step parent

Indiana has a streamlined procedure if this is a step parent, so marry him first. Try to obtain the biological father's consent, if not, you should be able to terminate his rights. If you can not locate him, publication and a search of the putative fahter registry should do the job. Also, get an attorney so that things can go smoothly.

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Answered on 12/04/06, 10:39 pm


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