Biological dad returns 4-year-old Veronica to adoptive parents

[IdaBriggs]

155. The evidence is that it happened like it was supposed to.

1) He told the mother he didn't want anything to do with the baby, and didn't want to pay child support. He did this verbally, and via text message. (Apparently the break-up was acrimonious.)

2) He had nothing to do with the mother during the pregnancy, and provided zero financial support for her with pregnancy related expenses.

3) When the baby was born, he signed documents relinquishing his parental rights, did not attend the birth, never met the child (who went home with the adoptive parents), did not inform the military of his new "dependent", did not register her as a tribal member, did not offer or pay any form of child support, and did not make any moves to initiate visitation either with himself or his extended family (who did not make plans to "welcome" a new addition to the family with gifts, baby showers, etc.).

4) The pregnancy, while unplanned, was known to him; there was no "surprise! you're a daddy!" because he knew about it and discussed his unwillingness to be involved in providing parental child support.

5) The adoptive parents provided financial support to the mother for pregnancy related expenses, including medical bills. Again, he did not.

6) The child went home with her new parents from the hospital who were present in the room when she was born. Again, he was not, and made no effort to see her.

7) The three month waiting period, initiated because *both birth parents* signed documents relinquishing their rights to her, began.

8) After the end of the three month waiting period, during which the adoptive parents were monitored / had visits with appropriate agencies, he was presented with "final" adoption paperwork, which he signed. His daughter, who he had never seen or so much as bought a diaper for, was nearly four months old by the time he signed the documents with the word "ADOPTION" in large letters.

9) He was not deployed at any point in time during this process, had access to free legal counsel, and he *personally* followed the requirements of South Carolina law so that the adoption could take place.

This wasn't trickery; it was planned abandonment of his parental responsibilities. He had four months *after* she was born and multiple opportunities to change his mind - all he had to do was either not sign the papers, or "assert his intent to parent". One text message from him would have given his lawyer all the ammunition needed to stop the process before he signed off the SECOND time: "I hate you, but I want my child."

Babies rarely spring into the world without people knowing about it. He knew. He was just busy with his life doing other things instead of preparing for a child. One can reasonably surmise this was because he wasn't planning on being intimately involved in her life, as evidenced by both his actions (signing off on his rights to her) and his inactions (not taking any steps to financially care for her).

The most damning thing FOR ME is that, if he wanted her, why wasn't she listed as a military dependent or put on his life insurance policies as a potential beneficiary as he prepared for deployment? She was nearly four months old when he was handed the "final paperwork" - where was he?

I have provided links in post 149 that clearly spell out what was going down. It took me two seconds to google the information, and I am not intimately involved. The guy knew what he was doing.

He changed his mind, but he changed it too late. Life happens that way sometimes.