Legal Question in Family Law in Virginia

Adopting a Child

I have heard that in Virginia, if you put out an ad in the local paper in which the bilogical father lives, stating intentions for another man to adopt a child, if he does not respond to the ad within 7 days, that is all that is needed for the other man to adopt the child. The bilogical father does pay child support (court ordered), however, the mother and father figure are more than willing to give up the money in order to have him out of her life (the child in question is 2 1/2 years old). He has been conviced of DUI, and although he stated that he can still drive his ''daughter'' around, that his license has only been restricted, not suspended as the newspapers indicated, has failed to produce any papers to the contrary. It has been over a year since the papers were asked for. Since the mother and father figure (they are married and have been for over a year) have moved 280 miles away, the biological father has made no attempt to see his ''daughter'' whatsoever. He calls once a week to speak with her on the phone, yet does nothing else in the way of keeping a relationship up with her. Are there any ways other than taking him to court (such as the ad in the paper) for the father figure in her life to be able to adopt her?


Asked on 5/09/04, 5:34 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys
Michael Hendrickson Law Office Michael E. Hendrickson

Re: Adopting a Child

"The father figure" in this child's life, as you describe him, certainly may file an adoption petition" in order to have him(the biologicial father) out of her life". Which one might fairly conclude is the problem with this situation, i.e. the prospective adoptive parents are unhappy with the biological father and therefore would like to see the biological father's parental rights terminated-----irrespective of what the biological father himself might want or, perhaps, what even his daughter might want in the future.

This alone is probably reason enough for a court to deny the petition. (And, no, one doesn't terminate parental rights under our constitutional system by publishing an ad in a newspaper to which a parent has a mere seven days to respond in order to avoid losing his or her rights as a parent.)

Read more
Answered on 5/09/04, 11:16 pm


Related Questions & Answers

More Family Law, Divorce, Child Custody and Adoption questions and answers in Virginia