What counts as abandonment for adoption purposes in Delaware?

In Delaware, if the biological parent has had no meaningful contact with the child for 12 months or more, the court may consider this abandonment under 13 Del. C. § 1103. This is extremely common — over 80% of the 34,000+ adoptions we've helped complete were finalized without the other parent's consent.

Important: "Token contact" like an occasional phone call or one brief visit does NOT count as meaningful contact. And paying child support does NOT negate abandonment — abandonment is about the relationship with the child, not financial obligations.

Note: In Delaware, termination of parental rights requires a separate petition, which we include in your document package.