Q: Child's father has had no contact in two years, can we move from Tennessee to Florida ?
He is on the birth certificate, we were never married, and have never been to court. My fiance (I have a child with) wants to adopt her , but we have both been offered great career opportunities in Florida near family and my step baby. We could finally afford to start the court process once there and settled, but I want to know if there would be repercussions for us moving out of state. I know Tennessee has abandonment laws of 4 months or longer with no contact which we can undoubtedly prove as well as proving him an unfit father.
A: If you have never been to court and the father has no visitation rights, then you are the sole custodian of the child and do not have to notify him under the parental relocation statute. Once you are in FL, you will need to be there for 6 months before you can begin adoption proceedings. Best of luck!
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