Legal Question in Family Law in New Jersey

My boyfriend has two daughters with another woman, one of which was born today, and the other who is four years old. My boyfriend and I are incapable of being full-time parents due to severe health issues and our young age, but we still would like to be in the children's lives. The mother refuses to take care of them and wants to give the children up, which devastated my boyfriend and I because we had originally thought the birth mother would take the children in and we would support them financially while also coming to visit/have the children spend the night with us as much as possible. So now, she wants to put the children up for adoption as I said earlier, which would work fine for us if it were to be an open adoption (that way we would still be able to play a significant role in the children's lives), but she insists on a closed one. We've tried telling her that we could just put them in an open adoption and she could just opt not to partake in it... But again she refuses. What can we do? Is there any way the my boyfriend (the birth father) can stop the birth mother from placing the kids into a closed adoption and have them be placed in an open one instead? We would be willing to take her to court if need be.


Asked on 12/01/12, 4:51 pm

2 Answers from Attorneys
SAUL SEGAN SAUL H SEGAN ATTY AT LAW

Where do the children live?

She cannot terminate your parental rights without father's permission.

Please call at no charge if you would like to discuss the matter.

215-732-4000

Truly sorry about your health issues

Best wishes,

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Answered on 12/01/12, 7:03 pm
John Ducey Law Offices of John G. Ducey, PC

There is no such thing as an open adoption in new jersey. In order for the birth mother to try and put the children up for adoption the birth father would need to sign a consent. It sounds like he will not. So then the adoption would be filed and the judge would have to terminate the birth fathers rights. From your description it sounds as if he he is a good father so that process probably would not happen either.

Call 732-458-5600 to discuss further.

John ducey.

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Answered on 12/02/12, 4:58 am


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