Expectant Fathers, Wisconsin Father Rights- Adoption Services Inc.

Being a father is a lot of responsibility. It also means you have rights, and many decisions to make. If you decide to place your child for adoption, there are still a number of things you can do for yourself and your child. This includes deciding how much involvement you would like with your child (by the type of adoption you choose), and the personal, medical, and genetic background information you provide the agency to help your child in the future.

As a father, you have a right to parent. Under Wisconsin law, the mother of a child born out of wedlock has custody. However, you (as the father) also have rights to agree to in order to make your child available for adoption. In fact, adoption cannot be done without either your voluntary consent or a legal procedure to terminate your rights involuntarily.

Why choose adoption? Adoption is a big decision for you. It is a choice you make for yourself and your baby. Caring for a child is not an easy job. Look at yourself and decide what you want to do with your life. Think about your school and job situation. Think about who can help you with your baby, and about the lifetime responsibilities you assume when you become a parent. Think about your baby and decide what you want for your child. You make the choice.

You may decide your child would be better off being adopted. You may believe you are too young to parent, or you may want your child to have the benefit of living in a home with two parents. If this is the way you feel, you may turn to an adoption plan for your child. Adoption is a parenting plan and is one way to fulfill your responsibilities to your child. Adoption may be the right parenting plan for you.

Your responsibilities to your child last a lifetime. Planning for a child's future is as much a father's job as a mother's job. Deciding to raise your child or place him or her for adoption is an important choice you will have to make. When contemplating an adoption plan for your child, it is helpful to talk it over with someone outside of your family. Adoption Services offers free and confidential counseling, which provides information on the adoption process, your rights and responsibilities, and answers to any questions you may have.

What If Only One Of Us Wants To Terminate Our Rights? The state will not terminate the rights of only one parent. If a mother and father do not agree on termination, a hearing would be made to determine custody and child support matters. If a mother or father is certain of their inability to parent appropriately at this time, but the other parent refuses to allow adoption, the mother or father has the right to refuse custody of the child, giving the other parent full custody.

There are so many decisions to make. The fact that you are thinking about all of them very carefully means you are already being a good father.

If you feel adoption is the best parenting plan for your child, Adoption Services will make every effort for you to be an active party in the adoption.

Should you and the mother disagree on the adoption plan, the pre-adoptive parents, or the details of the adoption, we will coordinate separate meetings that will allow both of you some control over the process. We will also work to mediate the differences that arise during the process, as this can be a very difficult and emotional time. It is best when the two of you are able to work together.

We believe it is in the child's best interest to have both of their parents open and active in an adoption plan; therefore our goal at Adoption Services is to work with both expectant parents, whenever possible, to find a parenting plan that meets everyone's needs.