[lauren103]

hi everyone!

just wondering if you can give me some insight...

i am 22 yrs old, i have a 4.5 year old daughter. i was not married when i had her and she was born in the state of arizona. i moved for college when she was 8 months old to mass and we have been here ever since.

i am recently engaged to my boyfriend of 3.5 years (i met him here at school). he has been raising her with me and wants to legally adopt her when we get married (after the alloted time period, i think it is a year or 6 months?).

as for her bio father...

-he still resides in az
-he is not on her birth cert
-he has another fiance and child w/ her
-we do not have a custody order or child support order
-i do still remain in contact w/ him but my daughter sees him about once a year if we are to fly back out there to visit family; he contacts me once every 1.5 to 2 months for a few min just to make sure we're alive, basically

the thing is, i dont know if i would technically need his consent to have my fiance adopt my daughter. i have read through a few websites that if the child is born out of wedlock you do NOT need the bio father's consent in the state of mass. however, if i did need his consent, he would not agree to it. not so much out of love, but from the simple fact that he's territorial and is the type of guy that would think because that's "his kid" he needs to "claim what is his."

if anyone has any advice/insight it would be REALLY appreciated.

i also have no idea how this works if the bio father does NOT give consent?

thanks!

[barefoot9]

Yes, you will need his consent. Since he is somewhat active in the child's life, even in the least bit, the courts will make sure he allows this to happen.