Maybe someone can at least tell me where to go from here, being as I have no clue. My daughter is now 5. Her biological father has not seen her since she was 2 weeks old, nor has he ever spoken to me again. There has been no contact whatsoever. Two years ago I married, and we moved to Australia for a year. We are now back in SC and my husband, who is a wonderful loving father to my daughter, wants to adopt her. My fear is this; I've been told that I have to contact the biological father to get permission, and for him to terminate his rights. He is the kind of person who would make it hard for me, just to spite me. What if I conatct him and he demands rights? Can he make a fuss since I left the country with her? There was no mention of it when I got her passport, and I assumed it was no problem, since we are military. Does he still have a legal claim on her? I mean...he didn't want her then, why would he want her now? My daughter dearly wants her last name to be the same as Mommy and Daddy, and does not know that she ever had another one, even if it was for only 2 weeks. I just kind of want to know what to expect once we contact the lawyer, so if anyone has any experience with this please let me know.

You can still file for termination of parental rights based on abandonment as a step in the stepparent adoption process and if you khow the last known area he lived in, you can try to notify there or use notice by publication in the nespaper of record for the area-- you should consult an attorney or the South Carolina Rules of Court to find out the methods of serving notice on the bio father. It is best to hire an attorney to file the adoption and at this point I suggest going on consultations with your husband to interview attorneys.

Ok, so one more question. I was told that since we are military, we can go to a military lawyer and have it done for no cost. Anyone know anything about this?