Q: If I had my child out of state with no communication from the father can I terminate his rights if I move back?
I moved from Florida to South Carolina to have my child in November since I had more support here, the father has not contacted me since 2 months after finding out I was pregnant. I have paid all medical bills and have not requested child support, but I'm worried if I decide to move back to Florida is there a way to have full custody of my child and him have nothing since he abandoned me? I am just worried he would intentionally try to stop me from going anywhere or moving anywhere with bias intentions and not for the well-being of the child as he made it clear he does not want anything to do with the child. He already has 2 children he only sees once a week that live near him.
A:
First and foremost, if your child is less than 6 months old and was born in South Carolina, and you are still located in South Carolina, then South Carolina would have jurisdiction over your case, not Florida. You may want to readdress your search to get information from a South Carolina Attorney.
If you end up moving back to Florida and reside in Florida with your child for 6 months or more, Florida would obtain jurisdiction over your child for purposes of determining timesharing/custody. If that were the case it would be highly unlikely that the court would terminate the Father's rights given the fact scenario that you have provided.
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