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Was wondering if anyone might have some input and feedback on a stepparent adoption situation which involves a non-custodial parent contesting the process? I am the mother and the custodial parent. The biological father of my child has been virtually MIA, only sending birthday and Christmas gifts to my son. My son is 2.5 years old now and his bio father hasn't exercised his rights to visitation since my son was about 8 months old. There is a restraining order against the father of my child for his domestic violence but he was given monitored visitation rights to see his son, which he has voluntarily decided to forfeit. My son would see his father as a complete stranger if we were to run into him in public.
My son's father stopped his child support payments to me since he lost his job but he never filed for any modification and just decided to stop paying me. Based on my research of California Family Code Section 7822, if the non-custodial parent hasn't seen the child and hasn't paid support for a period of one year, it is my understanding that the custodial parent can petition to terminate the non-custodial parent's rights to the child. I have a boyfriend who has played a loving and caring fatherly role to my son and in the near future, we will probably get married and he will adopt my son. If the state of California is supposed to act in the best interests of the child, I am hoping that the stepparent adoption goes through without a hitch but in a bad case scenario where my son's biological father might fight for his rights and tell the judge that he wants to start being a responsible parent... anyone know the likelihood of a judge giving the biological father a second chance and not granting stepparent adoption to my new husband? I cannot imagine that a judge might disrupt the peace and happiness the three of us have built already but has anyone seen cases like this from real life experience?
Thank you for any insight into this matter.