You will need to bring a Petition for Co-Parent Adoption in your local Probate and Family Court in order to establish your partner as the child's legal parent. During that process, the parental rights of the biological father will need to be terminated, or he will need to 'consent' to the adoption. Although it is not as simple, you could aslo seek to establish parenthood by way of an equitable adoption, essentially arguing that it would be unfair to treat any other person as the father. If the biological father was truly interested in the child, it would be possible to reserve visitation rights for him even after an adoption. You can let him know that if he does not consent to the adoption, he will be responsible for the child, including child support, etc. You have options. Please feel free to contact me if you would like to discuss your situation further.
