Putting My Baby Up for Adoption Without the Birth Father’s Consent: Is it Possible?
No two adoptions are the same. Some have both parents present, while others may have one who is either unsupportive or out of the picture entirely. Complicating things more is state laws. On many particular laws, different states have different statutes. Even when states generally have similar laws, court cases and exact wordings can change how those laws are interpreted. All of this can be difficult to parse without legal advice from an attorney who can review your particular case. In Adoption Choices of Arizona, our caseworkers specialize in all aspects of the adoption process and will help answer all of your particular questions regarding the birth father’s consent. This will act as a general guideline, but be sure to give us a call and get in touch with our adoption caseworkers before making a decision.
If you need adoption help now, please call or text us at 1-480-900-5520 or visit us at Adoption Choices of Arizona.
What Happens if You Don’t Know Where the Birth Father is?
While it depends on the situation, Adoption Choices of Arizona may be able to help you with putting your baby up for adoption. If you are married or were married to the birth father, then they likely will maintain their legal rights to paternity. If the father does maintain paternity rights, that means they also must waive those rights in order to put your baby up for adoption. However, this doesn’t mean there is no way to adopt. One of our adoption caseworkers and attorneys may be able to help you file a petition to terminate the parental rights of an absent birth father.
If you aren’t married to the birth father, there are a few scenarios. If they aren’t on the birth certificate and have never claimed parental rights, you likely will be able to put your baby up for adoption without the birth father’s consent. However, be sure to get in contact with us to get legal counseling.
How Can Birth Fathers Claim Parental Rights?
A few ways exist for birth fathers to claim parental rights of their child. The first is likely the most obvious: parental rights are presumed in Arizona if the birth father was married to the birth mother in the 10 months before the birth. The father can also take genetic testing which will establish paternity if the probability of paternity is 95%. If the father was unmarried at the time of birth, they will still have parental rights presumed if they signed the birth certificate.
But even outside of these circumstances, there may be times where the birth father maintains parental rights. Get in touch with Adoption Choices of Arizona to get specific legal counsel for your case.
Putting My Baby up for Adoption with the Birth Father’s Consent
In a situation where the birth father is in your life and has claimed parental rights, your options are much more limited. In this case, you will likely need birth father consent in order to put your baby up for adoption. We know this may be a difficult thing to do, but your best option may be to try and talk to the birth father about choosing adoption. Adoption Choices of Arizona has years of experience helping parents build an adoption plan and can counsel you on how to have this conversation.
One important piece of talking to the birth father is empathy. It’s easy to forget that the birth father may have a difficult time giving up their child for adoption. Acknowledging and working through that difficulty with the birth father will help keep you two on the same page. Furthermore, education about the adoption process may also motivate the birth father to consent to putting your baby up for adoption.
Another difficulty for the birth father may be a shame. Some birth fathers are ashamed that they can’t take care of their family and that people may think less of them because of this. Let the birth father know it’s okay to have these feelings and that they’re not wrong to have them. It can be difficult to choose adoption, but you want to pick the best option for your child no matter what.
Putting Baby up for Adoption with or without the Birth Father’s Consent
Everybody’s adoption story is different, so Adoption Choices of Arizona is here to serve you. Some mothers don’t know where the birth father is. If so, we can see if they have paternity rights or not. Some birth fathers may not have presumed parental rights, but we can help you find out if they have claimed any parental rights either. When the birth father is in the picture but doesn’t wish for an adoption, we can help you talk to him about choosing an adoption. Still worried about convincing the birth father or attempting to contact them? You can fill out our contact form or find out more here at Adoption Choices of Arizona.
For adoption resources or to begin your adoption journey, birth parents can visit us at Adoption Choices of Arizona or call or text us at 1-480-900-5520. If you are a prospective adoptive family hoping to adopt a baby, please instead, visit us here!
Meet the author: Joshua Boulet is an aspiring journalist and writer with a particular fondness for research and social sciences. He loves music, writing, reading, video games and most art, and anything creative he can get his hands on. Boulet believes that there’s too much good stuff out there and not enough time to see it all. He grew up on video games: the classic Sonic the Hedgehog games, Mario Kart, Marvel Ultimate Alliance, and Legend of Zelda. The music of rhythm games led him to an interest in that, and the investigative journalism of Jason Schreier inspired him to discover the importance of journalism as an industry. That interest in developers’ lives led him to an interest in social justice and how the world could maybe be made into a better place. “All this to say, there is certainly a line I can draw between me obsessively playing Sonic the Hedgehog 2 and me interviewing my sociology professor about how to read academic articles. Those surprising through lines fascinate me all the same. At my best, I’m a person who gets to be constantly fascinated by the lives and work of other people.”
His favorite quote is from his favorite jazz musician:
“A genius is the one most like himself” – Thelonious Monk.
