What is the name of your state? PA
I have a rather interesting situation. I have a 9yr old daughter from a previous marriage who does not see her biological father. He is a drug addict and has been in and out of jail her entire life. Until about 2yrs ago I tried to let him have visitation when he wasn't incarcerated. Not very often. At that time my daughter decided she didn't want to see him, talk to him, or receive letters from him. I put her in counseling to be sure(even though I tried really hard not to bad mouth him) that she didn't make this decision because of my personal feelings toward him. Her counselor has told me that it was definitely a decision she made for herself. I have very rarely gotten support payments from him and he is in arrears like $18,000. The last time he got out of prison, 11/07, he started paying his support. I think it is just to stay out of jail, because he has not tried to contact my daughter at all. He did send a box of gifts for X-Mas. There was no cards, no letter, just a bunch of wrapped gifts. So to get to my question, my new husband has been more of a father to her in the last 3 yrs than her father has been her whole life. She is calling him Dad and told me she wants him to adopt her. She has been saying this for a while but I wanted to be sure she meant it. I think she is mature enough to make this decision as does her counselor. I just don't know if legally we stand a chance. I know non-payment of support is a big deciding factor for terminating parental rights and since he has been paying I don't know what to do. The gifts in Dec '07 is the only attempted contact since Dec '06. I know he will not voluntarily give up his rights, so asking him is not an option. Is there anything we can do to get the adoption granted? Thanks!What is the name of your state?What is the name of your state?
I have a rather interesting situation. I have a 9yr old daughter from a previous marriage who does not see her biological father. He is a drug addict and has been in and out of jail her entire life. Until about 2yrs ago I tried to let him have visitation when he wasn't incarcerated. Not very often. At that time my daughter decided she didn't want to see him, talk to him, or receive letters from him. I put her in counseling to be sure(even though I tried really hard not to bad mouth him) that she didn't make this decision because of my personal feelings toward him. Her counselor has told me that it was definitely a decision she made for herself. I have very rarely gotten support payments from him and he is in arrears like $18,000. The last time he got out of prison, 11/07, he started paying his support. I think it is just to stay out of jail, because he has not tried to contact my daughter at all. He did send a box of gifts for X-Mas. There was no cards, no letter, just a bunch of wrapped gifts. So to get to my question, my new husband has been more of a father to her in the last 3 yrs than her father has been her whole life. She is calling him Dad and told me she wants him to adopt her. She has been saying this for a while but I wanted to be sure she meant it. I think she is mature enough to make this decision as does her counselor. I just don't know if legally we stand a chance. I know non-payment of support is a big deciding factor for terminating parental rights and since he has been paying I don't know what to do. The gifts in Dec '07 is the only attempted contact since Dec '06. I know he will not voluntarily give up his rights, so asking him is not an option. Is there anything we can do to get the adoption granted? Thanks!What is the name of your state?What is the name of your state?