Adoption of Canadian by American Step Dad

[Canadian123]

Hi,
my husband has a daughter that is now 11 years old, she was recently moved to the US by her mom to live with her step father. We were told that they would be initiating adoption proceedings as soon as they could. As my husband has no rights (he and the mother were not cohabitating at the time of birth and never have) nor has he ever had any rights as per the mothers wishes, we are wondering if there is any requirement for them to contact my husband before or during the adoption process?
I believe they are living in South Carolina, we are in Canada.
Thanks.

 

[irish223]

Generally, during the process of step-parent adoption in the US it is necessary to serve notice to the legal father prior to termination of parental rights. If your husband has been declared the legal father, then I believe that notice will have to be served.

Was your husband legally recognized as the father?

 

[Canadian123]

I'm not sure about 'legal' father - he is the biological father, and has to pay support, but other than that he has no rights. There was no permission required etc. before the mother moved to the states, simply a letter so that we could forward tax assessments to her new address. In addition we were told that he would not need to give permission prior to the mother changing the daughters name (during a previous marriage of hers).
Thanks for the info!

 

[irish223]

Wow, Canadian law seems to be a lot different than US law! In the US, he would only pay child support if he had been found to be the legal father, either through signing the Acknowledgement of Paternity after birth, or through DNA testing (since they weren't married). After adjudication of paternity, the father is then entitled to seek visitation rights, and gets them unless there is a very serious reason to deny them, such as child abuse or whatever. Further, it would be difficult to change the child's name and move her out of the country without the father's permission.

If your husband wishes to challenge the adoption, or learn more about it, try this link if they live in South Carolina:

http://www.state.sc.us/dss/csed/

Good Luck

 

[Canadian123]

Thanks for that info. There was a DNA test way back when she first asked for Child Support - so I guess that makes him the 'legal' father, but there sure aren't ANY rights attached to this. I do know that there was definitely no requirement for my husband to sign anything for a name change nor an out-of-country move.
Thanks again for your help!