Question: I was married in July 2005. I have a 12 year old daughter from a previous relationship and my husband would like to adopt her. Her biological father has been absent from our lives since 1996. What do we do?
Answer: The Arizona statutes that explain the process for securing consent for an adoption petition can be found at A.R.S. §§ 8-106, 8-107 and 8-109, and explain the consent requirement in detail, as well as what must go into your adoption petition. As you will see from those rules, one must generally secure the consent of the biological parents for an adoption – even if the “absent” father has not been heard from since 1996 (unless, for example, his parental rights were previously terminated by court order). To read all of the adoption statutes, see the Arizona Revised Statutes, Title 8, Chapter 1
September 18, 2006
Legal Services Corporation