Legal Question in Family Law in Maryland

abandonment and adoption

My childrens father has not seen them in over 6 yrs. I found him once but as soon as child support contacted him he took off.His mother will not tell me where he is. I am married now to another man and he has been the childrens daddy for 7 years now.I would like to now how i can obtain the nes. forms to have thier biological fathers rights revoked and my present husband to adopt them.I have called my local legal office and since the children are ok they cannot help me due to an over load of cases.We have 6 children between us (5 live with us) and cannot afford to hire an lawyer. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thank you. P.S. If it matters they are 9 and 10 now. And the reason I left thier father was because he broke my sons leg at 3 months old, and yes he was convicted of child abuse. I have waited until recently to do this although my husband has wanted to from the start is because I wanted it to be a decision made by all four of us, and the children havent stopped askin if we can make thier daddy thier ''Real father'' so I am tryin to do the right thing by them.


Asked on 5/27/04, 12:35 am

1 Answer from Attorneys
Robert Sher Wagshal and Sher

Re: abandonment and adoption

Your husband needs to file a petition to adopt the children. You will be required to provide notice of the petition to the father, which obviously will be difficult. You will probably have to ask the court to allow you to provide notice by a newspaper publication in the circulation area of his last known address.

Although you say you can't afford a lawyer, you might contact the lawyer referral service of the bar association in your county and see if you qualify for a lawyer on a "reduced fee" basis. This matter is sufficiently complex that it will be extremely difficult for you to get it done on your own.

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Answered on 5/27/04, 10:25 am


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