Legal Question in Family Law in Missouri

Re: abandonment

The information you received is incorrect. You are wise to seek legal advice from an attorney, and you should not take anything anyone else says as accurate. Nothing automatically terminates a father's rights, assuming he actually has those rights inthe first place. If you were married to this man at the time of your child's birth, then he is presumed to be the legal father of the child and he has certain rights (basically the same rights you have as mother). If you were not marriede, but he signed an Affidavit of Paternity subsequent to the birth of the child then he is the legal father and he has those same rights. If neither of those things is true, but he has been judicially determined to be the legal father as in a Paternity Suit, then he is the legal father and has legal rights as defined by that court order. If none of these things are true than he is not the legal father of the child and has no legal rights concerning that child. If he does have legal rights, those rights may be judicially terminated in various ways. The Division of Family Services may take legal action to do so. Or, if someone wants to adopt the child legally his rights might be terminated. There may also be other circumstances which would result in a termination of a parent's rights, but htese are the most common. I hope that this has answered your question and be of some help to you.