Obstruction by the mother or her family
Failure to care and support may also be justified where the mother or her family significantly hindered or discouraged the father's efforts to support or care. Examples include refusing to accept the father's support,36 forbidding the father visitation or threatening him with criminal charges should he try to visit,37 getting restraining orders against him,38 and concealing the child's location.39 But the father's failure may still be willful if, despite the mother's efforts to thwart him, the father knew where the mother lived and could have made support or visitation possible.40
An agreement between legal parents that the father need not pay support may negate willfulness41 Whether this applies to putative fathers is unclear. The putative father should send reasonable support to the mother regardless of any agreement.
Ignorance of the Pregnancy
Sexual intercourse puts the father on constructive notice of the need to register.42 The law does not directly address whether a father willfully fails to support or care where he registers solely on speculation and never confirms a pregnancy Because timely registration can occur after the mother surrenders the child, the putative father may have a duty to investigate the existence of a pregnancy to give support before she surrenders the child. To be safe, the putative father should follow up to see if a pregnancy has occurred, and if he believes a pregnancy occurred, send the mother money by certified check.
___________________36 See Suvak; In re Adoption of Klonowski (1993), 87 Ohio App.3d 352.
37 See In re Adoption of Vest 01-LW-0846 (10th).
38 See In re Adoption of Baby F, 2004-Ohio-1871 at 10-11.
39 In re Adoption of Youngpeter (1989), 65 Ohio App.3d 172.
40 See In re Adoption of Woods 89-LW-0421 (4th).
41 In re Adoption of Bailey 81-LW-1695 (6th), In re Adoption of Link (1972), 67 Ohio Op. 2d 310.
42 R.C. 3107.061.
