Q: What defines a “meaningful relationship” in Oklahoma?
My daughter is nearly 2.5 and my husband of almost a year has raised her since she was 4 months old. Her biological father moved out of state, and hasn’t seen her in nearly 4 months. When he would see her it was for a couple hours once a month and would never ask to call or video chat with her, and would hardly even text to ask about her. My husband wants to adopt her but we don’t think her biological father will consent. I have seen that failure to maintain a meaningful relationship with the child can cause his rights to be terminated and allow the adoption to go through. Is this true? What exactly defines a meaningful relationship with her?
A: Failure to maintain a relationship with the child is one factor the court considers when someone petitions the court for adoption without the consent of a biological parent. Another factor is failure to support.
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