Adopting a stepchild with no father on birth certificate

Building a family today includes a mixture of parents and stepparents, but what if you’re faced with adopting a stepchild with no father on birth certificate? 

Traditionally speaking, adopting the biological child of a spouse is one of the easiest forms of adoption. However, cases where there is no father on the birth certificate will be more difficult to process. 

Abandonment Of The Child

Adopting a stepchild with no father on birth certificate is proof that the child didn’t have contact with his/her father from the moment they were born. If this is the case, courts will advise the stepparent to present requirements that prove that the child is indeed abandoned.

In situations like these, the stepparent needs to prove that the father also failed to pay child support and did not try to get in touch with the child during a specific time frame.

Both biological parents are needed to consent to adoption, however, if one of them cannot be located, the present biological parent may request a termination of rights that are based on abandonment. The present biological parent who is looking to terminate the rights will need to prove the supposed abandonment.

If the biological father is proven to have legally abandoned their child in a specific time frame, they will be stripped off of their rights to the child and can no longer interfere with the adoption process. From there the stepparent may push through with adopting a stepchild with no father on birth certificate as long as there is consent from the biological mother and if the child is old enough.

Importantly, state legislation may vary and certain requirements will differ from state to state.

Overview Of Adopting A Stepchild With No Father On Birth Certificate

What if you did locate the father before and during the adoption process?

For starters, one must file and serve the right forms for adopting a stepchild with no father on birth certificate. It’ll be shorter if the biological father will also give up his rights and consent as a parent, but if the father refuses to give up his parental rights at a court hearing, the judge may strip him off of his parental rights on the child. 

If the biological father has objections against the adoption, he must request custody for the child. When absent in a court hearing, his rights can be terminated without his presence.

However, if the father does manage to appear and request custody at the hearing, the legal due process will be based on whether he has a custodial relationship with the child or has provided support and care for his family.

Let’s say he has a custodial relationship and has supported and cared for his child and has solid proof of it at a hearing. In this case, adopting a stepchild with no father on birth certificate will be more difficult because the father was involved in the child’s life even in his absence. However, his custodial rights can still be terminated if:

• The biological father failed to sustain substantial support for his child for at least 2 years before the non-consenting parents filed for adoption
• The biological father has failed to visit, contact, or communicate with the child for at least 2 years before the non-consenting parents filed for adoption
• He was available to support, visit, or contact the child within the 2-year time frame before the non-consenting parents filed for adoption

If the non-legal father objects to having rights terminated and fails to meet the factors above, the judge may terminate his rights. The judge considers the best interest of the child for this decision. Several factors include but are not limited to:

• The emotional bond between the father and child
• The capacity of the father to provide guidance and basic life lessons
• The capacity of the father to provide basic necessities for standard living
• The time frame of the child living in a stable environment and its sustenance
• The overall condition of the father (mentally, physically, morally, etc.)
• The home, school, and community record of the child
• The preference of the child
• Other factors that are essential to the father’s custody request

Consequences Of Child Abandonment

Let’s say adopting a stepchild with no father on birth certificate was deemed successful on your end; what are the consequences for the biological father if he has failed custody of his child in court?

Parents and caregivers with parental responsibility have a legal duty to provide for their children’s necessities. This includes financial support, basic house supplies, accommodation, healthcare, and the like. This duty normally extends to children 16 years of age and may apply when older under special circumstances.

Further harm like abuse and neglect should also be prevented under their care. Those who fail to provide these things constitute an offence under general criminal law and child protection laws. For example, in Western Australia, the penalty for causing significant neglect and abandonment of the child is imprisonment for 10 years.

Importantly, when dealing with child abandonment cases you have to be sensitive towards the emotional needs of the child. Such a situation can cause a lot of mental trauma to the child, with there being high chances that the child continues to feel insecure. It is therefore imperative to provide emotional support to the child at all times.

Stripping off parental rights is serious and you should consider seeking independent legal advice.