Legal Question in Family Law in Maryland

The biological parent maintains certain rights unless/until those rights are waived voluntarily (i.e., by consent) or terminated by Court. This is true no matter how long they have been absent, although absence can be a reason for the Court terminating rights. If you know the identity and whereabouts of the absent parent then you would likely want to send a request for consent. Since the absent parent will be released of his/her obligation to provide support this may be agreeable to them. After securing this consent, you would file your adoption petition. If you do not know the identity/whereabouts there are ways to proceed but you would still need to provide adequate notice in the court proceedings.

You may want to talk to an attorney to get some assistance with this adoption.

They must be notified of the adoption petition and given an opportunity to participate in the proceeding, which would mean filing an objection. That doesn't mean the adoption won't go through. The court will decide what is in the child's best interest, but a bio parent does have certain rights even if he hasn't exercised them responsibly.