Need information about Step-Parent Adoption in Ontario, Canada.?

Question

My son's bio dad has not seen him for more than 10 minutes in over two years, he does not pay support even though there is a court order saying he's supposed to pay $50/month. My current partner is the only father my son knows and now he would like to adopt him but I'm having a hard time contacting my son's bio dad to get him to sign the consent form. Is there anything else I can do or any other way for this to be done? Do we have child abandonment laws in Canada and if so can they be used in this case? Can the courts take bio dad's rights away considering he hasn't been there or seen him?

Answer 1

Yes you can in Ontario. I've been there & I've done it.

The law there says that after six months of no contact what so ever that abandonment of the child can be declared. This means 6 months of no calls, no support, no contact at all that he initiates.

You do still need to see a lawyer & you still need to go before a judge with it.

Your other option is to haul his butt into court to ask that his rights be terminated. Although that wasnt the route I took, I do have friends that did it. They had to prove to the courts that the fathers flitting in & out of the child's life is doing more harm than good for the child. In my friends situation, he didnt even bother to show up for court, and they gave him a second chance by re scheduling the court apperance which he again failed to appear for. After that it was good enough in the courts eyes that he wasn't interested in being a father to her children.