[familytoth]

When I was young, I was raped and became pregnant and to prevent my child from obvious scorn, we put my husband's name on the birth certificate (in Missouri). We divorced sometime later and he has had no contact with her since she was four. She is now fifteen and my new fiance, who has been with us for five years, would like to adopt her as his own. I understand that there are laws in Arizona making it possible for the county attorney to assist with 'Uncontested' adoptions in our state. My question is would I still need to locate the man whose name appears on the birth certificate to relinquish parental rights of her or does Arizona have contingency laws about the length of time that has passed without contact? We are looking for various options that will prevent a large expense as we do live on a limited income, but so desire to become a 'real family'.