Ask a Lawyer - Archive

I have a two year old who has always been with me. Her birth father lives 3 hours away and calls once a month to see her. We meet halfway and he gets a weekend when convenient for him. He never calls to talk to her and sends only $300 every other month. Otherwise he does nothing for her. He and I were never married and he left me before she was born. Can I make him go away? I'm now married and my husband is the daddy she needs.

I'd be surprised if you can do that. In most states terminating the parental rights of a parent takes a showing of NO contact and NO support for some period of time, typically 6-18 months. The best way I know of to increase the chances of Dad's being willing to do this voluntarily would be to pursue him aggressively for child support. It's surprising how flexible some NCPs get about giving up parental rights when they feel intense financial pressure.