Note: The DearEsq free 'ask a lawyer' site is offered as a free informational service to the public and is not intended as legal advice. Laws vary from state-to-state, and in addition every situation is unique, and relevant facts may not be known. The answer to the question posed below may not apply to in your state or to your situation. For legal advice in your state and your situation you should consult with an attorney in your state who is familiar with the rules and laws in your state.
‘I am a resident of Louisiana and a mother to a 2 year, 9 month old little girl. Her biological father left at the end of August 2009, due to disagreements and abuse to me. He has not seen or supported her since. In the meantime, I married and have pursued child support from him. None has been received. I never told him he could not see or talk to my daughter. He moved to Oregon in Sept. ’09 and that was the last time I heard anything from him. He was ordered to pay child support in spring of 2010 and still has not. I recently learned by email that his 2 children from his ex-wife were put into foster care in Klamath Falls, Oregon because he could not support them and for suspected child abuse.
I want to get his rights terminated so that my husband can adopt her and we can change her last name. She has no memory of him and he is showing no interest in my daughter’s life. How should I go about pursuing this or can I?’
Question: Under the facts you describe you can’t have his rights terminated over his objection, or, even, without his consent. However the one exception to that is that in some states, if you have someone who is willing to adopt your child and step in as her father, and if her biological father agrees to the adoption, then his rights could be voluntarily terminated in order that the adoption could go forward. However, this is rarely in the best interest of the child who, regardless of how you feel about him, has a right to know and make her own decisions about her own father.
