Does paying child support prevent abandonment claims in Delaware?

Whether paying child support prevents an abandonment claim in Delaware depends on the facts of your case and on how the Family Court applies 13 Del. C. § 1103, so you should not treat payment alone as a guarantee either way. The Family Court clerk in your county or a Delaware family law attorney can tell you how this works for your situation.

What Delaware sets out. Delaware's abandonment period is 6 months under 13 Del. C. § 1103. Child support is one part of a parent's history with a child, but this page cannot tell you how much weight the court gives it against other facts. That is a question for the clerk or an attorney.

Why it matters in a stepparent adoption. If the other biological parent will not consent, abandonment may come up as a reason the adoption can go forward without that consent. In Delaware, termination of parental rights is a separate step from the adoption itself. A contested termination depends on the specific facts and evidence, so it is worth getting individual legal advice before you rely on abandonment.

Facts worth gathering. If you are considering an abandonment-based case, it helps to organize the history before you talk to the clerk or an attorney:

• Dates and amounts of any child support paid, or a record that none was paid
• Dates of any visits, calls, cards, texts or other contact
• Any court orders about custody, visitation or support
• Anything showing when the parent last took part in the child's daily life

Other Delaware points that may apply to your adoption.

• Court: Your petition is filed in Family Court.
• Child's consent: A child who is 14 has a consent requirement under 13 Del. C. § 907(b).
• Home study: Delaware does not waive the home study. See 13 Del. C. § 912.
• Timeline: A stepparent adoption in Delaware typically takes 4-6 months.

If the other parent agrees. If the other parent is willing to consent, the question of abandonment may never come up. If you are not sure whether the other parent will agree, or you cannot locate them, speak with an attorney or the Family Court clerk about that specific issue before filing.

How we help. StepParent Adoption 360 is a document preparation service, not a law firm. You answer questions online, and we prepare the complete court document package for your Delaware county. You then file it yourself without an attorney. The price is $349 for the first child, plus $99 for each additional child. Court-ready documents are delivered within 24-48 hours after you finish the questions, and we back them with a 100% court acceptance guarantee. We have helped 89 Delaware families and more than 34,000 families nationally since 2001. We do not represent you in a contested case, so if the other parent objects, an attorney is the right person to advise you on that part.