Legal Question in Family Law in Washington

Re: stepchld adoption

Well, that can be kind of a trick. First you have to find him. You might need to hire a PI to get a good address for him so he can be served.

PI's have some amazing tricks up their sleeves when it comes to locating people.

Then, you need to show he's the father. Do you have a birth certificate where he's named, or were you married to him, or . . . ?

Then you need to calculate back support. Back support is a debt owed to you, not to the child. It accrues interest at 12% calculated as a monthly transfer payment and then simple interest.

Adds up quickly. I can't tell from your question how old the child is, or whether you ever had an order of child support. Depending on a number of factors, you may be limited to looking for support for the last five years.

If you contact the Family Support Division of your local Prosecutor's office, they may be able to help you with issues such as this. Or, you may want to hire private counsel.

Once you know what the back debt is (and it is going to be something) then you can talk to ex and say something like, "That's money you owe me. I am willing to walk away from that money if you will agree to allow our child to be adopted by my husband".

Costs? Depends on who does your work for you. The best family law attorney in the South Sound is Rick Bartholemew and his partner (whose name I forget). Chances are you are looking at a few thousand dollars, and it would be well worth the money spent.

Hope this helps. Powell