QUESTION
Is this considered parental abandonment and what are my rights as a single parent?
Asked on Oct 05th, 2014 on Child Custody - Washington
More details to this question:
My son has lived with me all 9 years of his life. His "dad" hasn't made an attempt to see him since he was 2. I haven't heard from him in 6 months or so and goes periods of time without contacting us. He's not been involved in any medical things or any part of his life. No birthday cards, no phone calls, no Christmas gifts or anything. Would this qualify as abandonment? We never had a parenting plan as he abandoned us when my son was 9 months old. The father lives in another state. I'm afraid he will show up here and take my son or do something. I need my son protected. He doesn't know his dad as he's never been around.
1 ANSWER
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You don't say if you and the father were married. If not, he is not a legal father until a court has so ordered. If you receive child support that was ordered by a court he has been made the legal father. However, that does not give him permission to take the child. In order to see the child, he has to establish a parenting plan. Whether he abandoned the child or not is irrelevant. You apparently have taken no action to ask for child support or set a parenting plan. You can still do this as child support is the right of the child and you don't have to ask for a parenting plan or can ask for one that requires supervised visitation for a period of time since the child doesn't know him. In other words, if you take the appropriate action you protect the child and set appropriate limits on contact.
Answered on Oct 07th, 2014 at 6:01 PM