Q: My daughters father has not been in her life for 10 years and she wants her stepdad to adopt her. can this be done
She is 15. He does not live in the same state as us, and we have had no contact with each other and when she was 5 we filed a police report about sexual abuse against him but nothing ever happened to him they said they could not prove it and she hasn't seen him since
A: Yes. You should terminate his parental rights in a case like this -- I believe. You can do an adoption without doing that, but I prefer to terminate when I don't have an agreement. It may be different if your Probate COurt has equity power (assuming you are in Jefferson County) In any event. NEVER try to do an adoption alone. Hire a lawyer.
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