Legal Question in Family Law in Virginia

Re: Can my husband adopt my child.

You would have to terminate the parental rights of the biological father in order for your new husband to adopt your child.

You can't simply move to dismiss the visitation of your ex-husband. You would have to petition the court to terminate the visitation and you'll have to show that it is not in the child's best interest to continue the visitation. The fact that his not the biological father alone will may not be enough to terminate his visitation if your child has established a bond with the child. You'll have to build your case to show the court that your new life with your new husband is in the best interest of the child and the continued visitation with your ex is not in the child's best interest. So you'll have to really ask yourself whether you are doing this for the benefit of your new husband or are you really wanting to terminate the visitation because it is not good for your child.

Re: Can my husband adopt my child.

This question concerns paternity rights and visitation rights of a non-biological parent and adoption rights of a third party

Question 1: Can this be done without the biological fathers consent since he has not ever been in the childs life? (he knows he is the bio father because of the paternity test)

ANSWER: No. Some man has parental rights to that child whether it is the man listed as the father or the man who actually is the father. The adoption process requires that the father waive his parental rights or you would have to bring a lawsuit to have the court divest that individual of his parental rights.

Question 2: Can I be forced by court to continue with visitation between my ex who was determined not to be the bio. father, and/or his family over my objection? They want to remain in contact with the child and have said they would fight for visitation rights.

ANSWER: Yes. Anyone can petition for visitation rights. The court will grant whatever is in the best interest of the child. If these people have been in the child's life, believeing it to be their family member, then they have a good chance of convincing the Court to maintain that relationship depite the fact that they are not related.

Question 3: Can I file a Motion to Dismiss custody, visitaiton & support issues against the ex since he is not the bio father.

ANSWER: This connects to the previous question. Even though he is not the biological father, it may be in the child's best interests to maintain a relationship with him. Once it is determined that he is not the biological father, he has no further obligation to pay child support. He would also have no custodial or inheritance rights.

Question 4: Do I have to list the bio father on a new birth certificate since we did a dna test, even though we were not married?

ANSWER: The only requirement to list a father on a birth certificate is if you are married.

Good luck.