My kid’s biological father hasn’t seen them in three years. My now husband has been raising them since my son was five months old; he’s now three. My question is how to go about their biological dad getting his rights terminated and for my husband to adopt them. Can anybody tell me the process? Honestly, I’ve asked him twice to sign over his rights voluntarily, and he has ignored me. I don’t want to spend a lot of money on a lawyer when I know he’s not going to show up or come to any kind of court hearings. I’ve tried to go to the courthouse, and they told me they don’t have that kind of papers to file. I live in western PA if that helps.
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Getting an attorney is what’s best honestly.
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Get a hold of domestics I know bellefonte court house has a department for domestics
Getting an attorney would be easier. It’s a huge process to terminate a parents rights. If he does it voluntarily, he would have to sign a paper in front of the Judge. If you serve him with termination papers, and he doesn’t respond to the court proceedings, you can have his rights terminated without his signature. Atleast in NM.
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Here in Michigan there is one rule for adoption by a step parent, it has to be more than 2 years since they last had contact with the biological father, but he will also need to give his permission. If he says no, you can try to fight him, but thousands of dollars later, he will just be ordered parenting time that I’m sure he won’t adhere to, then you could take him back again with a chance the judge will terminate his rights. Its difficult at best in my state.
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Theres a way through the court system to file however I’d get a family law attorney
Your honesty going to have to hire an attorney. I’m in western pa too. Call around ask rates. Find someone able to help. This is a very complex issue.
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In Ohio you file the paper work they will serve him with the papers to contest it If he doesn’t reply in the time firm they then will work on step 2 which is a home visit
You need a lawyer, they will get you a court date and write up your request.
You just have to prove there has been no contact. You have to attempt to contact him and have him served court papers.
Well if he isn’t paying his child support,make him start paying thru the legal system or terminate his rights and not be held accountable to pay anything?
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You’re going to have to get an attorney for that unfortunately, they have to be present when you go to court too so that way they can represent you and your husband and the child in question. I had to go through the same process with my daughter, my husband adopted her because her bio father hadn’t seen her since she was about 6 months old. She’s 4 now. We got a family attorney and had him draw up the paperwork for us and it took a year to get the signature from the sperm donor as I put it, and less than 4 months from the date the papers were signed to get the adoption granted. With an attorney it will be easier to get him to sign his rights because the attorney will take the papers to court for the termination and if he doesn’t show in most cases the judge will voluntarily sign his rights away without him being present. You will have to talk to an attorney though to know for sure what your options are if the bio father doesn’t sign his rights willingly once the papers are drawn up. I know Pennsylvania and Texas have different laws regarding that stuff, but regardless you will have to spend that money.
Consults are free though.
He needs to give up his rights. Although likely easier just to get your husband guardianship as it doesnt sound like the father is willing to sign off.
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I live in nepa…I had to get a lawyer…cause it has to be published in the newspaper and everything
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I would get an attorney to assure all is done legally. You can’t predict the outcome, but if it’s worth it for you to try, you should try.
Abandonedment filing??
Does he do child support?? Do you know where the father is??
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Honestly, you don’t need a lawyer. I’m not sure about PA but I live in AZ and went through the process. Here, if you go 6 months without contact with your child by choice, it’s abandonment and after that you have every right to file for termination of rights. You can call the court and request they email you the paperwork, or go in and talk to them about it. Then you go in and file it and you have to have him served. (There are a few ways to do this, most are inexpensive) He will have a certain amount of time to respond and a hearing will be set. In my case, he didn’t show up and it was a done deal that day. It wasn’t nearly as stressful as I thought it was going to be.
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If the father doesn’t give permission it’s gonna be nearly impossible. Hell go put him on child support and if he is bad as you say he will probably want to.
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I realize he has been absent for a very long period of time. And the youngest child is too young to even know who he is. But the older children know who he is. He is wrong for not being involved in his children’s lives, but that doesn’t change the fact that he is their father. I truly don’t understand why so many women try to terminate parental rights of a childs father. They are just as important to the children as you are. And are entitled to equal parenting rights. The only exception to that is if they are abusing the children. Dont be so quick to try and strip the Dads parental rights away. Your kids will grow up and look for the truth one day and wonder why you took him away just as much as why he chose not to be around.
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You need a lawyer, the kids will need a guardian ad listen lawyer as well. Thats our state anyway
I actually just went into the courthouse here (I live in central pa) and they sent me to the ‘orphans court’ section and they gave me all kinds of numbers for affordable attorneys and such. I dont know if your courthouse has the same thing but its worth a shot! Good luck!
u have to get a lawyer to terminate his rights then pay a lawyer to have ur husband adopt him 🤷 i know i had to do it its not cheap but it was well worth it
ABANDONMENT. Find out what the law is and how long he has to be away
Go to Family Law Self Help in your county…they will help you to do the necessary paperwork yourself…
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Does dad pay child support??? If so, then you will loose that. If not, and you and the kids haven’t heard or seen him in 3 years, maybe try for abandonment. I’ve been with my sks for almost 8 years, never have I thought of adopting them. I love them more then anything, but me adopting them makes zero difference on me being their guardian. If you have contact with dad, see if u guys can meet up, without the kids, just the 2 of you to talk about it. I would personally just leave it be.
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In PA if he doesn’t give permission it’s going to be literally impossible. Doesn’t matter how long he hasn’t been around. You’ll deff need a lawyer &even with him it’s not a garentee
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I live near Pittsburgh and we’re trying to do this with my children’s birth mother. It is possible without a lawyer but really hard. It’s a lot of paperwork and if you don’t know the location of the other parents it’s even harder because you have to place a ad in three different newspapers. I’ve found a few lawyers willing to do it but the cheapest one I’ve found is $2500 but that doesn’t include the adoption fees and such
I would contact an attorney and go from there. Most have free consults and can assist you in the right direction.
It would be a part of the adoption procedings.
It’s called a second parent adoption. It’s a process and you will need a lawyer because the paperwork and process is extensive. There will be background checks, there will be meetings with you and the kids. There is a lot that goes into it and it can take a few years to complete. You also have to either prove that the bio dad is a danger risk to the children, or get him to sign off on the paperwork. With him just not being around, you will likely have to get him to sign the paperwork.
I’m in Texas and was able to file abandonment cause he hadn’t seen the kids in over a year then was able to let dad adopt however it wasn’t cheap…
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Abandonment is gonna probably be the first step, the rest is 9/10 lawyer manditory. Adoption etc
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My ex continued the hearings 3x the 3rd he just signed the papers and that was it. I filed because he kept screwing up his visitations, lying why he couldn’t get the kids and hubby offered to adopt. We had a lawyer that helped us. It may be expensive but well worth it if you win. From Pa
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In the state of WV, unless they volunteer to sign all rights, there ain’t much u can do. Especially if he pays child support. Been there and done that so I know how much it sucks. My ex-husband hasn’t saw my 2 kids in YEARS and my husband has helped me raise them since they were 3 and 5. They are 11 and 13 now and the court will not enforce anything because the state makes him pay. I even begged him and made it clear he would never have to pay another cent. It makes no since why he won’t considering he doesn’t call or see them at all. If your dead set on it, get a lawyer and go after for abandonment. That’s gonna be your best bet.
In Ohio after a year of no contact it’s considered abandonment you have to file a paper they will notify the father give him an opportunity to go in front of the judge to appeal and then the judge chooses whether or not to terminate the rights and allow adoption to take place
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In the state of pa if a parent doesn’t try to make any contact with in 6 months its consider abandonment but there a free lawyer like mid pen that will help you with info
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Abandonment, no contact in so many years.
Wow folks in that area don’t seem too helpful ,ugh.yes the forms are often online for your area ,and I wish you luck
Where I am, if the biological father hasn’t seen or contacted the children in a year, he has no rights and you can just proceed with talking to a lawyer about adoption.
Have ur new man adopt your kids
I don’t know in Pa, but California says if father doesn’t see kids for 2 yrs it’s concidered abandonment an he looses parent rights.
I live in GA my two kids bio dad ( he’s only on the oldest birth certificate and never signed our daughters ) lives in PA. He hasn’t given me any money, he doesn’t contact them nothings in going on 3 yrs he meets the abandonment termination but still My husband and I have spent 10,000 dollars in the last year trying to have my son and daughter adopted by my husband. My ex has not responded to any court documents, he has not tried to file anywhere else , we had to do a skip trace and everything and still don’t have a court date as our original court date had to be rescheduled. From what Iv been told and looked into there is no way without going through the courts. It’s long and it’s expensive but we know we will win and that’s the only thing keeping us going
Your husband can not adopt unless the bio dad signs his rights over. Looks like he’s not going to do that. 🤷
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I live in a commonwealth state too…va. the law here states that if there is no contact after 2 years now (used to be 3 until recently) then your lawyer can file parental abandonment and the courts in his absence can take his parental rights and responsibilities and then from there you would need to do a step patent adoption.
In GA Abandonment can be filed against the absent parent after 12 months of no contact regardless of child support payments or not.
Look into that under family law
You might can file to adopt without his permission/signature
Just leave things as they are. Your husband will still love your kids as if they are his own. Your children wont remember their biological father anyway. You are causing yourself unnecessary stress. Love your family and forget about him and get on with your life…that costs nothing.
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he has to be willing to give up his rights & sign the proper paperwork. contract a lawyer
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My husband adopted my daughter we spoke with a lawyer that’s the first thing you need to do. Her bio dad never paid child support so we told him he wouldn’t have to pay back support if he signed the papers a d if he didn’t sign the papers he could go to jail for non payment. He signed the papers and that was all there was to it. We didn’t even have to go to court.
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My husband adopted my daughter. We got a lawyer but, first they got my daughter a advocate. We had to place an add in paper for 30 days stating our attentions. Also the lawyer did a mandatory search to see if father was looking for her. The whole process took about 90 days. During the final court process the judge will ask advocate if she thinks it’s in the child’s best interest if she says yes the judge grants it.
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We did it. But he signed over rights after a lawyer sent him the papers. Get a lawyer. It cost but worth it
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Yes, the process is to contact an attorney and not Facebook.
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I would hire the lawyer. In some cases, depending on the laws in your state, they can force him to pay attorney’s fees and court costs if you win your case.
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I was told the only way to force the issue is if Ex is abusive They can make him pay support but don’t like to terminate his rights in case he wants to be an active parent in the future BUT if he doesn’t want to be active parent & doesn’t want to pay support then you could try telling him he would be “Off the hook” for any support if he signs off That might work if he isn’t just trying to be an ass I did it Still talk to a lawyer Good luck 
You have to get him for abandonment in both California and Oregon tha6s how I was able to let my new one adopt them
Step parent adoption
Get an attorney and take it to court. It’s called abandonment. My daughters husband adopted my oldest granddaughter.
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I’d start with talking to a lawyer on that. They can point you in the right direction for the whole thing. From what you need, to a lawyer you can afford, or programs that can help you get a lawyer.
If ur kids father won’t sign over his rights good luck the only way is to get a lawyer and even then it will be hard at less the courts find ur kids father to be unfit
This is what I found by asking google " how do I go about terminating my kids’ father rights when isnt a part of their life, and he won’t do it volunteerly?"
If biological father doesn’t show up doesn’t your petition go through?
All these comments are true but start with lawyer.
What if he doesn’t want his rights terminated?
Its really simple get a lawyer