CAN A MOTHER PUT A BABY UP FOR ADOPTION WITHOUT THE FATHER?

The decision to choose an adoption plan is tough in itself.

With adoption you have to think of all the parties involved, and that includes the birth father.

Lots of adoptions take place every year without the birth father ever being involved. When that happens, though, there’s some legal risk to you and to the adoptive parents.

The father can cause a hiccup down the road if he was never notified of the adoption plan.

Legally the father of a child has the same parental rights as the mother, so it is important to take the right measures to where both the mother and the father give their consent to the adoption.

Taking the proper legal precautions when preparing an adoption plan is the best way to ensure adoption is best for all parties involved (the birth parents, adoptive parents, and child).

How you let the birth father know of the adoption, legally, depends on your state law. Click here to find your state

CONTACTING THE FATHER

If you do not know where the father of the child is, an adoption professional can help you.

In this case, many states have a Putative Father Registry.

This is where a father must go to sign up to protect his parental rights.

In some cases, this is where you can notify the father of the adoption plan.

If he does not register, the adoption may be able to continue without his consent.

Another option is an adoption profession can assist you with publishing notices in his last known location.

If you do know where the father resides follow these steps:

Don’t lie about being pregnant: Even if your state doesn’t require you to tell the father when you are pregnant, the law may still forbid you from lying or misleading him, especially if he asks you directly.

This applies even through online/offline contact and social media; email, text messages, facebook, twitter, etc.

If you are unsure how to let the father know, you can have an adoption coordinator or a lawyer answer for you.

Be safe: Many states don’t require a birth mother to inform the father or possible father about her pregnancy if she has reason to fear for her safety.

An adoption coordinator can help you find out what the options are in your state.

Adopt Connect can also provide immediate assistance with living expenses, transportation, housing, and more.

Your options if there are two or more possible fathers: If there is a possibility that multiple people can be the father, all parties should be notified.

To do this, you would notify each party using one of the ways that will be mentioned below.

Depending on the state is how you would notify them.

If one of the possible fathers want to parent, a paternity test will most likely need to be taken.

As you plan to notify the father of the child, keep in mind that your adoption decision is always your own. At the same time, keeping him informed will help in the long run to have a smooth and successful adoption.