Legal Question in Family Law in New York

sole custody awarded, dad pays support but not in picture

child is 4yrs old. i have sole custody(legally) father never sees child. pays support w/ court order. we were never married. i am now married. gave my son fathers last name. hubby wants to adopt son. father will not speak with us about this. if he has never saw the child, i was awarded sole custody and he has paid child support on and off.... what do i have to do to make it so my sons DAD becomes his father and we all have the same last name? The father does drugs and he has cruddy employment, still lives with parents. Can he fight adoption, even though he is a DBD do i still need his consent. We also had an order of protection against him years ago. I want my child to have our name and his dad be his legal dad. my husband is all my son knows.


Asked on 10/08/07, 10:02 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys
Joel Salinger Law Office of Joel R. Salinger

Re: sole custody awarded, dad pays support but not in picture

I hate to tell you this but the chances of doing what you want to do is slim to none. Your son's natural father has an absolute right to block the adoption of his son with out his consent. If he does not consent, you are not getting this through the courts. Even if you can demonstrate that he is unfit, that will usually creat a situation where his rights to visitation are limited or eliminated but to completely remove him is going to take a massive action on his part. You should consult an experienced attorney in your area if you are truly committed to this course of action.

Joel R. Salinger, Esq.

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Answered on 10/09/07, 1:17 am


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