Does A Father Have To Sign Adoption Papers For An Unborn Child If He Is A Minor?
I’ve been watching the secret life of an american teenager, and I was just curious….Does a minor father have to sign papers in order for the minor mother to put her child up for adoption? Does he have to sign away his fatherly rights? Or is it just the minor mothers decision?
Tags: Adoption, Child, Does, Father, Have, Minor, Papers, Sign, Unborn
February 9th, 2010 at 6:47 AM
Well, it’s complicated! First off, sadly, laws vary from state to state. Unfortunately not all states require that the father sign off on the adoption to make it legal. Most states have a putative fathers registry. But the time frames for signing the registry vary from state to state & often, if the father doesn’t know he’s going to be a dad, or doesn’t know the child has been born, he may miss his window of opportunity. http://www.childwelfare.gov/systemwide/l…http://www.childwelfare.gov/systemwide/l…
Secondly as to the issue of a minor becoming a parent: again, laws vary by state. Simply becoming a parent doesn’t automatically grant a minor emancipation in every state. However, that doesn’t mean a parent can’t make decisions for themselves & their child. http://www.jlc.org/factsheets/emancipati…http://www.legalaidocba.org/documents/Em…http://include.nurse.com/apps/pbcs.dll/a…
Hope these links help!
February 9th, 2010 at 9:42 AM
ANY father in an adoption that is biological to the child being adopted has to have their rights signed away and officially terminated in court just like the mother does. In the event of not being able to locate the biological father then it is required to post a public notice to run about 2 weeks in a newspaper or other public medium about the adoption to see if someone comes forward. If not the putative father registry for adoptions is checked and the courts will automatically then terminate any and all rights of parentage for the unknown father.
No adoption can be finalized without termination of biological parents rights. No rights can be terminated any sooner than 48 hours after the birth, and in some states it’s up to 7 days after the birth. That period allows the biological mother/father to decide if they are truly going to go forth with the adoption or if they are going to say they will parent instead. Until the rights are terminated they have the right to back out and say they want to parent instead.
Keep in mind “secret life” is HOLLYWOOD and Hollywood has been known to take liberties for the purpose of telling a story or for good drama. I wouldn’t get all my information about adoption and the process from TV and movies. I find alot of them distort reality and don’t give a clear, truthful picture for the sake of drama and ratings. I’d educate yourself using some books on adoption and talking to people that have adopted or people like lawyers who work with adoption cases that can help you learn FACTS about the process near you.
February 9th, 2010 at 1:52 PM
In a number of states a father can sign a pre-birth relinquishment. His rights are not supposed to be terminated until after the child is born. The actual termination of rights should happen after the birth…if it is going to happen.
A father can lose his rights without signing anything, in some states.
Some states require that a father know about the pregnancy and actively support the mother…or he is not considered a father with rights to a child, if the mother relinquishes.
Some states have a ‘putative fathers registry.”
February 9th, 2010 at 3:15 PM
First of all, no papers are signed until after the child is born. A child cannot be adopted before birth.
Yes, the father of the child must consent to and sign the relinquishment papers. However, there are many legal loopholes in place that can be manipulated in order to deny fathers their rights.
February 9th, 2010 at 3:36 PM
Yes the father has to sign over his rights for the child to be adopted. Age does not matter. He created the child, he’s the biological father and therefore has rights to the child.
Both the biological mother and father need to sign over their rights in order for them to give up their child for adoption.
February 9th, 2010 at 3:47 PM
ok if regardless of whether or not the father is a minor if he is listed on the birth certificate or can prove or has good reason to think that he is the father he can step up and they will have him take a paternity test and if his then he can sign his rights away if he wants to or he can take custody of the child
i am a teen mom and i have been lucky i am married to the babies father and there was NEVER ANY doubt as to whether or not that we would keep the baby… we have our own house bills payed early and have everything we need and everything we could ever want…. so you can make it even if you are a teen parent…. and i hate the fact that everyone automatically assumes that teen mothers and fathers will either give up the baby or pawn it off on someone else (you couldn’t force me or her father to…we wouldn’t even let someone watch her for an hour or so…until she was over a year old….) not all teen mothers are bad people or whores or anything… he was my first and i was his… my daughter is now 21 months and is one of the happiest healthiest most intelligent kids i have ever seen….i mean i don’t want anyone to think i am saying go out have sex get pregnant and have a kid… that everything will be fine… because more often than not it doesn’t work out…but what i am saying is that they should give teen parents like me and my husband more credit and not talk live we are all ****…oh yeah by the way i home school myself i am 17 and well my husband is 20 and anyway i would be graduating this year and i still will be able to…. i am lucky… but that little girl is my whole world…
February 9th, 2010 at 10:18 PM
A minor has no right to enter into any kind of legal agreement like this. The court can decide that he is something called an emancipated minor, which would then make him an adult. Most courts agree that if you can make a baby you are an adult, but it takes a court order
February 10th, 2010 at 2:18 AM
Minor or adult, if his name is listed on the birth certificate, he is legally the child’s father. So yes, he would have to sign away his parental rights before the baby could be put up for adoption.
February 10th, 2010 at 4:52 AM
Both has to sign.Unless the child is to be taken away for endangerment and is a ward of the sate in the US.But for an unborn child.Yes he does have to.
February 10th, 2010 at 8:05 AM
The father needs to sign the adoption papers regardless of his age.
February 10th, 2010 at 11:02 AM
He should have to. Agencies and lawyers seem to find ways around it all the time tho.
February 10th, 2010 at 1:57 PM
Minors have rights too so from what I know of the legal system he would have to sign them.
February 10th, 2010 at 3:10 PM
Both have to sign, or he could go after the baby