Legal Question in Family Law in Indiana
I am a father of a 3 year old boy. Dont get me wrong I love him with all my heart. The mother comes from a drunken family thats in and out of jail, she has ne education I am a college student with a job and a high school diploma and college exp. She has put me through hell over the boy. I have not seen him for over 4 months because she will not allow me to. Only because I knew the path she had chose throughout her high school career and I know she could never finish anything. She was controllive and abusive. She lets my family who I havent spoken to in over a year see him and not me. I have a court date on december 2nd and I have came down to if i have an option i want to give up my rights to the child. He feels more like an estranged cousin than he does a son. No matter what good path I want to set for him he will always be under his mothers control and I do not want to dish out my hard earned money to someone when I cant ever have a say so in his education lifestyle or envirnoment he is associated with. How do I go about giving up my rights as a father and putting her out of my life for good?
1 Answer from Attorneys
There is a huge myth in the law that a person can just choose to give up his rights and obligations. It does not work that way in Indiana. Unless the child is adopted you cannot voluntarily give up your rights or your obligations.