Home > Research Legal Advice > Child Custody > My daughters biological father now wants to have rights 10 year later...
Asked 8 months ago - North Las Vegas, NV
FlagMy daughters biological father now wants right s after being absent for 10 years. He has never paid one single chid support payment. He is not listed in the birth certificate. He has visited with her once. My husband wants to adopt her since he has been raising her for the past 5 years, taken care of her, and even claimed her on his taxes (for the past 3 years). Her biological fathers home is very unstable with an emotionally disturbed wife and 5 children. What are the factors I need to keep in mind? Can they gain custody if my daughter absolutely doesnt want to have anything to do with them? My daughter has been in tears at the thought of being forced to see them. Can they really force a child to spend time with them, even my daughter pleads not to be fored?
It is possible that he can gain some visitation rights, it all depends on a variety of factors, one of them being the particular Judge that gets assigned to the case. On the flip side you could also ask the Court to terminate his parental rights due to neglect/abandonment. Every Judge has a different standard for this also. His rights would need to be terminated for your husband to adopt unless the bio father consented to the adoption. The wishes of your daughter may matter, depending on her age/maturity. This is again a discetional thing.
I would recommend scheduling a consultation with a family law attorney to discuss your options. You may want to file to terminate his rights before he files a complaint for custody.
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