Legal Question in Family Law in Maryland

Re: Adoption by fiance

You have to file a petition for adoption in the circuit court of your county. You will have to satisfy notice requirements informing the father of the proceeding, so he can participate if he wants to. This means you will have to send a copy of your petition to his last known addresses and the court will probably also require you to publish a notice of the petition in a newspaper that circulates in the area where you think he's located or which serves his last known address. If he objects to the petition, it will probably be unsuccessful, even though he's shown little interest in the child. It sounds like he's left the area or has a new "family" so has lost interest in your child. You didn't indicate, but it sounds like he's not supporting the child either. If he does get involved in your adoption proceeding, you should at least get a child support order if he wants to continue his relationship with the child.