Q: My soon to be husband wants to adopt my 4 month old daughter. Can the father give up his rights.
A:
Congratulations on your future nuptials. After you are legally married, your new husband can adopt your 4 month old daughter. The biological father can give up his rights by consenting to the adoption or refusing to contest the adoption.
It can be much more complicated than that if the biological father chooses to contest the adoption.
However, there are also certain instances where the biological father does not have to consent, such as when the biological father has abandoned the child for 6 months, not communicated with the child for 1 year or failed to pay child support for a similar period of time despite being ordered to. Consent may also not be required if the biological father is mentally unfit.
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