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step parent adoption

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Amanda20

Guest
What is the name of your state? NC


I have a 3 month old baby. The father lives in AZ. He is not on the birth certificate, has not taken a dna test, signed an aop and she does not have his last name. He wants nothing to do with her and sends no child support. I am getting married and want my husband to either adopt her or be put on the birth certificate. What can I do? Can I have my husband sign an AOP? would he then be considered the legal parent? could her father come later and get this reversed?Can he be added to the birth certificate through an amendment form by the hospital? If not what is the procedure for step-parent adoption when there is not a natural father on the birth certificate?
 


stephenk

Senior Member
your husband cant be added to the birth certificate because he is not the father of the baby.

if the father agrees to terminate all parental rights, then your hubby can be allowed to file for an adoption of your child.

if father does not agree, hubby can still file for adoption but it will be a very tough fight if father opposes adoption.
 

Seanscott

Member
Paternity must be established before the rights can be terminated and the adoption process begins.

Since you are in North Carolina and he is in Arizona, I doubt if he'll cooperate in any DNA test or show up in court to fight the termination . That is a big plus for you & your husband.

Have your husband file a petition to adopt and that will start the ball rolling toward the paternity hearing, paternity test, termination of rights, adoption hearing, home study, etc, etc, etc. Unfortunately, it's not a simple process, but once it's done, it is permanent and cannot be changed.

We are going through a similar situation where the biodad has pretended to put up a little bit of a fight. We filed the petition in February, and if everything goes right, the adoption will be finalized this month.

Under no circumstance should you put your husband on the birth certificate. Many couples have done this without any problem, but it is fraud and if you're caught, you're in a world of trouble!
 

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