Q: My husband was forced to give up legal rights of his daughter 5 years ago. She is turning 18. Can he contact her then?
A:
It is unclear what you mean by he was forced to give up his legal rights to contact his daughter. If he was still legally the father he was always able to go to court and get parenting time including asking for a modification of a prior order the barred contact. However if he was forbidden to contact his daughter because he committed a crime involving his daughter, you will need to ask a criminal attorney to review the criminal record and see if the no contact order is still in effect. If you mean that the daughter was taken away by the State and put up for adoption, then the daughter is not his legal daughter any more but when she turns 18, absent a court order prohibiting contact for some reason, he would be free to contact his biological daughter despite her not being his legal daughter anymore, just like he could contact any other adult.
Since there is confusion as to what you mean by he was forced to give up his legal rights, I would play it safe and tell him to speak to an attorney before attempting any contact.
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