Expectant Fathers
The baby's father must voluntarily consent to the adoption, formally deny paternity, have his parental rights terminated, or elect to parent the child. Sometimes a father may not want to acknowledge paternity of his child, and refuse to sign the relinquishment papers. In this case, he would be required to sign a paper saying that he is denying paternity of the child, and thus waives his rights to the child. If the father will not sign either relinquishment or the waiver, the attorney can take steps to legally terminate the birthfather’s rights.
If it is uncertain as to which of several men may be the baby’s father, a signed consent or waiver must be obtained from each.
In a situation where the father’s location is unknown, the attorney must perform a due-diligence search for him by advertising in newspapers and taking other actions to find him. If the father does not respond, it will be presented to the court that all reasonable efforts were made to locate him, and his parental rights will be severed.
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