Child Guardianship

[aloha]

I have a granddaughter out of wedlock. The father abandoned my daughter when she was pregnant and although he did the right thing by signing the birth certificate at the hospital more than 4 months ago, he has never visited my granddaughter or paid any support. Both he and his parents seem to be disinterested in her well being. My daughter is currently on financial assistance and the child support department of California has served him with papers regarding his responsibilities. My daughter is worried that if anything should happen to her, the courts would give custody to him. She would like to provide guardianship of her daughter to my husband and I should anything happen. Does she have to obtain permission from him to do this? Or because of his abandonment, does she automatically receive full custodial rights and all that entails? Thank you very much.

 

[Michael Wechsler]

As of right now he may very well have custodial rights. Abandonment status may be declared by the court but I believe that CA has a law declaring abandonment of a child by one parent with the other parent after 1 year's time. It is possible that he could return to contest the custody, but given his actions this seems unlikely. Additionally, he may not become aware of proceedings because in the event you need to serve him, you may be able to use alternate forms of service (posting in a newspaper) if he is unable to be located. You should speak to someone who specializes in this area in your state. Let us know if you need further assistance with locating such a person.

 

[jimmysgirl]

I have a granddaughter out of wedlock. The father abandoned my daughter when she was pregnant and although he did the right thing by signing the birth certificate at the hospital more than 4 months ago, he has never visited my granddaughter or paid any support. Both he and his parents seem to be disinterested in her well being. My daughter is currently on financial assistance and the child support department of California has served him with papers regarding his responsibilities. My daughter is worried that if anything should happen to her, the courts would give custody to him. She would like to provide guardianship of her daughter to my husband and I should anything happen. Does she have to obtain permission from him to do this? Or because of his abandonment, does she automatically receive full custodial rights and all that entails? Thank you very much.

the father's rights are superior to yours. unless he can be proven unfit, if something were to happen to your daughter, he would be first in line for custody.