What do I do? Bio father is in jail...

You need to contact the facility he is housed in to send any type of legal document to him. A consent form needs to be properly witnessed. A deputy can do this but you may have to go down to the jail or if the jail has a legal department that handles things like this, they may need to witness the consent. If he is convicted you can petition under California Family Code 7825. (a) A proceeding under this part may be brought where both of the following requirements are satisfied: (1) The child is one whose parent or parents are convicted of a felony. (2) The facts of the crime of which the parent or parents were convicted are of such a nature so as to prove the unfitness of the parent or parents to have the future custody and control of the child. (b) The mother of a child may bring a proceeding under this part against the father of the child, where the child was conceived as a result of an act in violation of Section 261 of the Penal Code, and where the father was convicted of that violation. For purposes of this subdivision, there is a conclusive presumption that the father is unfit to have custody or control of the child. Murder qualifies under this law. I hope this helps.

He beat up his girlfriend at the time really badly, and has already served his time. Is that grounds to terminate parental rights? He is still in jail fighting new felony charges, but it looks like this case will drag on and on...

The felony conviction will help. Are you the sole custodial parent? How long has it been since the bio father has had contact with your child?

Yes, I have sole legal and physical custody of my son. He had visitation rights. He hasn't seen my son in over three years. He had visitation rights, and used them once in a while. He completely stopped when our meeting point was changed to the police station parking lot and therefore lost his visitation after 3 consecutive no-shows.

You could petition under this law (7825) as well as California Family Code 8604 for the abandonment. You will need documentation of the conviction to file with your petition as well as copies of the court order granting you sole custody. If you kept a log of the visitation submit that with the petition and note the last time visitation occured. Any documentation you can provide that backs up a violent history and the lack of contact will help your case should he refuse to consent. Good luck!!

Kallen, Thank you so much for all your help!