Q: After 2 years of no contact, does the father have paternal rights? (No contact since pregnancy)
I have 2 sons, (from different fathers) one is 4 and the other is 2. Neither of the fathers have been in contact since the beginning of my pregnancies. Do they have paternity rights? And if they do, how to I get them removed?
A:
Has paternity ever been established? Are the fathers listed on the birth certificate? Do you receive any state aid for either child? Is there a child support Order in place for either child? What is your motive to divest either father of his paternal rights? Do you suspect that either of the fathers intends to assert his paternal rights? These and other questions need to be addressed with a family law attorney.
If neither father has been in contact with the child since birth, it is impossible for either father to have done anything to harm the child. No Court will divest either parent of his/her parental rights without Notice and a Hearing. That said, paternal rights can be voluntarily relinquished under certain circumstances (e.g. the custodial parent remarries and his/her spouse wants to adopt and provide for the child).
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