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California Abandonment

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shadowbronco

Guest
My girlfriend had a child with a man that had a questionable background. He has only seen her daughter once when she was 6 weeks old. He has never inquired about her or taken any steps to be in her life. She is now 3 years old. He has threatened to try and take her daughter away if she ever tries to collect child support from him. We live in California. We may be getting married in the not-so-distant future and she has been very worried about him being able to take her daughter away. We would like to find out what the guidelines for abandonment procedures would consist of? We are probably looking for a Step-parent adoption, but need to minimize the chance of the sperm donor from causing trouble. By the way, he does not appear on the daughters birth certificate, but he does appear on some medi-cal papers. What problems may this have on the situation? We have been trying to get this mess over with and any help will be greatly appriciated.
 


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swthoss

Guest
Since he is not on the birth certificate, if he tries to take the child, call the police, it's kidnapping.

If the laws there are simular to PA. You will have to strip him of any rights. ( you have to name a father) Since he has not paid child support, or been in his child's life, this shoud be relatively earier. If he tries to contest demand back child support, and future support. but let him know you will forgive back support and future support if he signs the papers.

You should have an atty. for this, it could get a little sticky with all of the paper work.


Good Luck
 

TiffPol

Junior Member
Hi there

I am in a similar situation. My daughter's "father" hasnt seen her since she was 6 months old and she is turning 3 yrs old. He also has a shady background. He is on the birth cert and I got a custody agreement (100% legal and physical custody to me) when I left him. So he has more rights than does the sperm donor in your case.

He would first have to file papers to get a DNA test done before he could get any legal right to even file for custody, which can take up to 3 months to get back in CA.

I paid $10K to a lawyer to get advise and the custody papers done when she was 6 months and she told me that if one full year goes by without contact from the father about him specifically wanting to see the child and support her financially that I could then file for abandonment and take away all of his rights to my daughter. He would still owe child support until she was 18, but would have no rights to see or contact her until she was an adult.

I've heard rumors that it's very hard to get the abandonment to go through in CA without an adoption from a step-parent but my lawyer said I could do it and it should happen easily, so it's something you should go to your local courthouse and speak to the clerk in the family court area about. They aren't allowed to give out legal advise but they are allowed to tell you how it works and show you what papers you'd need to file. They can be a big help and you as a stepparent can even go in and ask, you dont have to have your G/F with you if she doesnt have time.

Hope this helps. I'll try to update here when I file my papers.
 

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