Q: Can the rights of a father be taken away without his consent? My fiance is wanting to adopt after we are married.
He is not listed as the father on her Birth Certificate, it is blank. I was young and naive and thought I was going to get child support from him. They had to establish paternity but he did not show up in court. I received a letter a few months letter basically saying in the eyes of the court he was the father. We have not seen/heard from him in 4 years. Last contact was a text message which I still have. I live in St. Tammany Parish, Slidell to be exact.
A: The biological father's consent is not required if he has failed to communicate (or attempt to) without just cause for over 6 months, or if he's failed to comply with a a court order of support for over 6 months.
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A:
The Mother's omission of the the father's name from the birth certificate, professing to not know who the father is, is fraud if she DOES know the father's identity. This does not compromise the father's rights.
The father has until twelve months AFTER he knows he is the father to seek his parental rights. If the mother's fraud is what prevented him from establishing his paternal rights, he could have 18 years to assert his parental rights.
However, if the mother can prove she asserted to him, that he is the father and he waited more than 12 months to contribute to the child's support or seek to see his child, then her subsequent HUSBAND can seek to adopt the child.
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