Legal Question in Family Law in New York
Adopting a step child with neglectful real parent.
I have two children, girls soon to be 8 and 6. We have been away from there father for about 5 1/2 years. The girls have not seen him in this time, he has not paid a drop of child support for either of the girls. There are domestic abuse files against their father in NC, and Ohio. Also my oldest daughter has PTSD(post tramatic stress disorder) do to the abuse from their dad. I will be married shortly, and my fiance' would like to adopt the girls. We are not sure how to go about this. Also my oldest daughters pschyotrist has order that they have no contact at all be it phone,letter or in person with their dad, do to the violent nature and the stress my oldest is under at such a young age. She has been on medication to calm her, and with out her meds at night,she will not sleep without nightmares. We just want to make sure he can never have contact with my girls again.
Thank you for your time,
3 Answers from Attorneys
Re: Adopting a step child with neglectful real parent.
Most dead beat fathers would be happy to
sign a consent when faced with the prospect
of paying child support as all child support
ends when the adoption goes through This is option 1
A court may dispense with the consent
of a natural parent for reasons of
abandonment. Your recitation of facts
may give rise to this but there could be
complications
Your best bet is to hire an attorney to
do the adoption with this in mind
Re: Adopting a step child with neglectful real parent.
If I were you, I would not be quick to allow your new husband to adopt your children.
If their father has no more parental rights, you will not be able to get child support from him. Just because you have never gotten it, doesn't mean you can't get it. For all you know, he could be making a ton of money now. And just because a court forced him to pay child support doesn't mean he could visit the children as he pleased. Because of the domestic abuse files, you could make a good argument to keep him away from the children. You may be fine financially now, but your children will need to go to college someday. If you can get a child support order in place, and set up collections through a state agency where he lives, you could put this money away for their education.
Also, I hate to say this, but you do not know that your new marriage will last. If you break up, and your new husband has adopted the children, he will have rights to see them. I would wait at least some time before deciding to let him adopt. At least give the new marriage some time.
If you would like to talk more about this, please call me at 845-362-0387.
Re: Adopting a step child with neglectful real parent.
It seems to me that their biological father has abandoned them. I see no reason why you and your fiance cannot go forward with what we call a "Step-parent" adoption. On these facts, the court should have no difficulty in terminating the parental rights of the biological father and granting the adoption. Congratulations.
For more information, please visit my web site:
www.BravermanLawFirm.com
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