needhelp1010
Junior Member
What is the name of your state? California.
At the time of the divorce, my daughter was about 22 months old. At first the visitationswere regular and then became less and less frequent. Another thing I had noticed was my daughter did not want to go visit her father, and her father didn't force her to visit, so her visits became very frequent by mutual agreement.
One day she came back from her visit while sobbing her eyes out, she poured out everything that she had not been telling me. She said she didn't want to go visit her father because he would pick her up, just to drive her over and drop her off at his parents' home then he would pick her up the next day just to bring her back home to me.
And apparently her father decided to gett re-married to a woman (who has entered in U.S. as a visitor and is now residing in this country illegally with a daughter 10 months older than my daughter); he only brought my daughter to visit as a play-date for his step-daughter, who did not even speak English, so they can entertain each other while the adults can be "free". She even said that her father and his new wife would go out, leaving the minors at home by themselves, who cannot even speak the same language.
The visitation became once in 3 - 4 months as his new wife did not want my daughter to visit (apparent lack of communication with her and her daughter) and my daughter only wanting to stay by her father's side (only one who spoke English). My daughter has not visited or had any real "contact" with her father over a year and no support payment was received for a year. She feels that she has lost her father and that he has chosen them over her.
She has not seen her father over a year. The last phone call (if that counts as "contact") was 4 months ago when they stayed on the phone for 1 minute. She said he makes her feel guilty when he asks if she misses her and remembers his face. Worst part is that she said she tells him she misses him not because she reallyl misses him, because she feels obligated to tell him that she misses him, too.
At the time of the divorce, he relinquished custody rights - both physical and legal to me.
Over two years ago, he had consented my daughter's name to be changed to my last name. (that's about when he started not visiting and started being delinquent with his child support payments) He then verbally declared that he will relinquish his paternal rights.
She will be 13 next year and she wants nothing to do with her father who neglected her. She has suffered emotionally and never wants to visit her father and her step-mother.
Q1: What is the definition of "contact" - 1 minute phone call asking what she had for dinner and whether she's doing okay count as contact?
Q2: What process does this termination of paternal rights entail- what steps should I take to make this legally binding?
Q3: If I do not remove his paternal rights and something should happen to me, would my daughter automatically have to go live with her father, who has not been active in her life and has tramatized her since his marriage to this woman w/ a step-daughter?
I have a small life insurance policy, but no matter how small, I do not want my ex-husband and his new wife, who does not care for my daughter, to have access to the money that my daughter is entitled to.
My daughter wants my boyfriend, who raised her since she was 5 years old, to adopt her and he said he wants to adopt her, but I don't see how my boyfriend, who is not legally married to me, adopt her.
Most importantly, I don't want to use this to get my boyfriend to propose.
Please help.
At the time of the divorce, my daughter was about 22 months old. At first the visitationswere regular and then became less and less frequent. Another thing I had noticed was my daughter did not want to go visit her father, and her father didn't force her to visit, so her visits became very frequent by mutual agreement.
One day she came back from her visit while sobbing her eyes out, she poured out everything that she had not been telling me. She said she didn't want to go visit her father because he would pick her up, just to drive her over and drop her off at his parents' home then he would pick her up the next day just to bring her back home to me.
And apparently her father decided to gett re-married to a woman (who has entered in U.S. as a visitor and is now residing in this country illegally with a daughter 10 months older than my daughter); he only brought my daughter to visit as a play-date for his step-daughter, who did not even speak English, so they can entertain each other while the adults can be "free". She even said that her father and his new wife would go out, leaving the minors at home by themselves, who cannot even speak the same language.
The visitation became once in 3 - 4 months as his new wife did not want my daughter to visit (apparent lack of communication with her and her daughter) and my daughter only wanting to stay by her father's side (only one who spoke English). My daughter has not visited or had any real "contact" with her father over a year and no support payment was received for a year. She feels that she has lost her father and that he has chosen them over her.
She has not seen her father over a year. The last phone call (if that counts as "contact") was 4 months ago when they stayed on the phone for 1 minute. She said he makes her feel guilty when he asks if she misses her and remembers his face. Worst part is that she said she tells him she misses him not because she reallyl misses him, because she feels obligated to tell him that she misses him, too.
At the time of the divorce, he relinquished custody rights - both physical and legal to me.
Over two years ago, he had consented my daughter's name to be changed to my last name. (that's about when he started not visiting and started being delinquent with his child support payments) He then verbally declared that he will relinquish his paternal rights.
She will be 13 next year and she wants nothing to do with her father who neglected her. She has suffered emotionally and never wants to visit her father and her step-mother.
Q1: What is the definition of "contact" - 1 minute phone call asking what she had for dinner and whether she's doing okay count as contact?
Q2: What process does this termination of paternal rights entail- what steps should I take to make this legally binding?
Q3: If I do not remove his paternal rights and something should happen to me, would my daughter automatically have to go live with her father, who has not been active in her life and has tramatized her since his marriage to this woman w/ a step-daughter?
I have a small life insurance policy, but no matter how small, I do not want my ex-husband and his new wife, who does not care for my daughter, to have access to the money that my daughter is entitled to.
My daughter wants my boyfriend, who raised her since she was 5 years old, to adopt her and he said he wants to adopt her, but I don't see how my boyfriend, who is not legally married to me, adopt her.
Most importantly, I don't want to use this to get my boyfriend to propose.
Please help.