I was recently contacted by a noncustodial parent who needed help in their situation, they wanted to know how to go about willingly terminating their parental rights to a child of theirs. This particular situation is not one that most people would think about when they think about a parent giving up their parental rights in a stepparent adoption.

Most stepparent adoptions are possible because a parent willingly decided that parenting was not for them, and abandoned their child with the custodial parent, however this situation is a tad different, and goes like this;

Once... more

The race to collect back child support from deadbeat parents who refuse to pay has been going on all year long, but it seems that once Texas announced it's astounding success in their collection of past due child support, other states are stepping up their game in an attempt to 'keep up with the Jones'.' Summit County, located in Colorado, has found a way to turn the tables and get the deadbeat parents to come to them, instead of having to hunt the parents down.

This week, ten billboards will be put up throughout... more

When parents are faced with having to search for the non-custodial parent of their child, they can often become overwhelmed with the daunting task of trying to find a needle in a haystack in order to complete a stepparent adoption for their child. While searching for a birth parent is by no means an easy task, there are many tools available in this day and age to make searching a little bit easier than it used to be.

Social networking sites are a relatively new way for people to get in touch, and keep in touch with a wide variety of people, and can be... more

While deadbeat dads are usually the ones who are in the headlines, taking all of the heat for non-custodial parents who fail to pay their court ordered child support, the tables have finally turned, if only for a brief moment in time, and deadbeat moms are making some headlines of their own.

And these moms are not just a tad behind in their child support, they have failed to keep in contact with the system, show up for court, and basically ignore every step of the process, digging themselves into financial holes upwards of $50,000. One woman, now living in the state of... more

When parents make the decision to begin a stepparent adoption, one of the first steps that they must make is to locate the non-custodial parent in order for them to willingly terminate their parental rights and consent to the adoption. While some parents may know exactly where the non-custodial parent is, others may have quite a hard time tracking the non-custodial parent down.

One of the easiest ways to get the ball rolling when it comes to... more

When it comes time to search for your adopted stepchild's absent parent it is important to make sure that your child is prepared for such an emotional process in their lives. Search and reunion is an emotional roller-coaster full of highs and lows, with enough twists and turns, and loops to make even the strongest stomachs queasy at times! While no one can be fully prepared for an event such as searching for and being reunited with a birth parent, it is important that your child is as informed as possible before beginning their journey.

Discuss your child's motivations... more

As my adopted stepson continues to grow up before my very eyes, despite my best efforts at whining at the world to slow down just a little and let him enjoy being a child just a little bit longer, I find myself thinking a little bit more about his birthmother, and if and when he will decide to search for her before he is grown and out of the house.

While he currently has no interest in locating her, that may one day change, and both my husband and I are ready to support him in... more

When non-custodial parents have made the tough decision to go ahead and terminate their parental rights to their biological child in order for the child’s stepparent to adopt him or her, the next tough question that they will face is whether or not they should speak directly to their child about the impending adoption, or to just let the custodial parents handle it and for lack of a better word, disappear?

Already having made the tough decision to give up their parental rights and no longer have any legal say in the life of their child, many non-custodial parents don’t seem to have it in them to then explain their choice to their child, or perhaps it isn’t that they do not wish to... more

Hostile Aggressive Parenting (HAP) is defined as: A general pattern of behavior, manipulation, actions or decision-making of a person (usually a parent or guardian) that either directly or indirectly; 1) creates undue difficulties or interferences in the relationship of a child with another person (usually a parent or guardian) involved with the parenting and/or rearing of the child and/or, 2) promotes or maintains an unwarranted unfairness... more

April 25, 2007 will mark the second annual Parental Alienation Awareness Day, Which was started by the Parental Alienation Awareness Organization, or PAAO. This organization was created to help get the word out about parental alienation, as well as hostile aggressive parenting. This year there will be a workshop, sponsored by the PAAO, as well as PsyCare held in Palmetto, FL from April 14 through the 15th.

The workshop will cover legal, psychological, social, and familial aspects of Parental Alienation, child abduction, child... more