Legal Question in Family Law in Virginia
just moving here need info
we moved here in Dec my hubby is in the USMC and has been stationed here! my question is this i have a 4.5 year old daughter that is not his..how ever her real father has not seen her in over a year and i have not gotten child support since Sept.. thats about the last time i spoke to him as well i have tried to contact him by phone email text calling his parents all that to let him know the new address and he does not return anything! so my question is what is the law on adoption.. cause my daughter thinks my hubby is her daddy and calls him daddy and my hubby would like to adopt her... any advice or help would be GREAT! thanks
1 Answer from Attorneys
Re: just moving here need info
An adoption requires the voluntary or involuntary termination of parental rights--the father would need his rights terminated. The fact that child support is owed, or that he has not contacted the child would unlikely be reason alone for a termination of parental rights. For general info. concerning adoption in Va. you can look at the Virginia Dept. of Social Services website; for more specific advice regarding your particular situation I would advise consulting an attorney directly.