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, 20 Chancellor P.O. Box , MS Re: In the Interest of: , Cause No. Dear Judge Grant: REPORT OF GUARDIAN AD LITEM Background and Basis for ReportThis matter is before the Court on the petition of , individually and as the next friend and natural mother of , to terminate the parental rights of . is the natural mother of , a (fe)male child born on , 20 .     is the natural father of . is ’s husband. On , 20 , this Court adjudicated to be the natural father of . The Court further ordered to reimburse in the lump sum of $ for the support of . The Court also order Mr. to pay child support in the amount of $  per month for the support of . The Court granted the permanent care, custody, and control of , and granted Mr. certain rights of visitation. This report is based on the following: 1. Review of the pleadings in cause no. ; 2. Review of the pleadings in cause no. ; 3. Interview of on , 20 ; 4. Interview of on , 20 ; 5. Telephone interview of on , 20 ; 6. Telephone interview of on , 20 ; 7. Attendance at hearing on petition on , 20 , which hearing was continued; 8. Conversation with on , 20 ; and 9. Review of the pertinent case and statutory law. scheduled two appointments with me. He did not keep either one. Mr. did tell me that he desired only to know what wanted to do in regard to this petition to terminate parental rights. has told me that he wants Mr. ’s parental rights to be terminated. stated that he would be willing to tell this to Mr. over the telephone, but that he did not want to personally meet with him. Findings Grounds for termination of parental rights are codified at Miss. Code Ann. § 93-15-103(3). Abandonment "Abandonment" refers to any conduct by a parent that evidences a settled purpose to forgo all duties and relinquish all parental claims to the children. Natural Mother V. Parental Aunt, 583 So.2d 614, 618 (Miss.1991) has abandoned . This conclusion is based on the following: 1. No Contact With For Over One Year. Based upon my interviews with , and , I learned that the last contact Mr. had with took place over two years ago. That contact was the result of a chance meeting at . At that time, Mr. came up to , told him that he was his father, and gave him a piece of paper that had his address and phone number on it. later ripped up the piece of paper Mr. gave him. In the last two years, Mr. has had no contact with whatsoever. No phone calls, letters, cards, or any other communications. Pursuant to Miss. Code Ann. § 93-15-103 (3) (a)1 it is grounds for termination of parental rights if a parent has made no contact with a child of three years of age for a period of one year. The last contact Mr. made with was approximately two years ago. Therefore, Mr. has statutorily abandoned . 2. Lack of Support. On , 20 , this Court ordered Mr. to pay the lump sum of $ for the support of for the preceding year. The Court further ordered Mr. to pay the sum of $ per month for the support of . Mr. has paid approximately $ in child support since , . The last payment was in . Since , Mr. has not made any financial contribution toward the support of . 3. Erosion of Parental Relationship. Mr. ’s conduct has caused a substantial erosion of the parental relationship between himself and . To put it simply, there is no parental relationship between and Mr.      nor has there ever been one. The first time I met was when I interviewed him on , . told me that he did not know Mr. any better than he knew me. also told me that he does not want to see Mr. . and Mr. are basically strangers. There is no father-son/daughter relationship between them, and there is no credible chance that there ever will be one. regards as his dad and refers to him as such. wants his last name to be “ ”. Pursuant to Miss Code Ann. 93-15-103(3)(e), it is grounds for termination of parental rights when there is extreme antipathy by the child toward the parent, or where there is a substantial erosion of the relationship between the parent and child which was caused in part by the parent's neglect, absence, or failure to visit or communicate. As set forth above, Mr. neglected his entire life, absented himself from him for over one year, contumaciously failed to support him, and has not visited or communicated with him in about two years. ’s attitude toward Mr. is not as much one of antipathy as it is of unfamiliarity. simply does not know Mr. and has no emotional ties to him. ’s unfamiliarity with Mr. was caused by Mr. ’s failure to ever establish a parental relationship with . Mr. ’s conduct evinces a settled purpose to forgo all his parental duties and to relinquish his parental claims to . Accordingly, Mr. ’s parental rights with respect to should be terminated. Best Interest of the Child In determining whether the proposed termination of parental rights is in the best interest of , the Court should consider the Albright factors. Albright vs. Albright, 437 So.2d 1003 (Miss.1973). 1. Age of Child. is years old. His date of birth is , . 2. Health and Sex of the Child. is a male child and is in good health. 3. Continuity of Care. There is no question that has had continuity of care with since his birth. Mr. has had virtually no meaningful contact with since he was born. During the last two years, has established a father-son relationship with . 4. Parenting Skills/Capacity to Provide Child Care. Since Mr. has never established a parental relationship with , he has never demonstrated whether he has the requisite skills to take care of . On the other hand, has demonstrated during the course of ’s life that she has the requisite parenting skills and the capacity to take care of      . Likewise, during the last two years, has demonstrated the capacity to care and provide for . 5. Employment of Parents. is employed at as a warranty manager and service advisor. is employed at as a . ’s hours are from to ; ’s are from to . Because of their work schedules, takes the kids to school and is home when the kids get home from school. has assisted in supporting since they got married about years ago. 6. Physical and Mental Health of the Parents. reported that she and enjoy good physical health. They do not have any mental health problems. stated (in her lay opinion) that Mr. is emotionally unstable. As an example, stated that Mr. told his other children that his current wife is possessed by the devil. 7. Emotional Ties of Parent and Child. The emotional ties between and are very strong, as has raised since birth. The emotional ties between and     also seem very strong. and profess to love each other and they each desire to have a father-son relationship. As stated above, there is no parental relationship between Mr.      and . 8. Moral Fitness of Parents. No evidence has been presented to me that either or is morally unfit as a parent. However, did report that Mr. has served time in the prison at , Mississippi. Mr. has also failed to financially support , in defiance of the order of this Court. 9. Home School and Community Record of . has children by a prior marriage: who is , who is , and who is . of these children, and , live at home. has one other child from a prior marriage, namely, who is . and reside in a . reports that the is adequate to house     and the other children. and both stated that gets along very well with ’s children and with . said he liked having and as his . is about to finish the grade at . Next year will attend the . does in school. and participate in a lot of activities together, such as . 10. Preference of the Child. Although is not yet of an age where he can express a binding preference, strongly desires that Mr. ’s parental rights be terminated. 11. Best Interest and Welfare of . The best interest of would be served by terminating Mr. ’s parental rights. Mr. has never established a parental relationship with - he is, in fact, a stranger to . Mr. has not financially or emotionally supported since he was born. has a good home environment. and have a father-son relationship, as thinks of as his dad. ultimately desires to adopt and desire s to be so adopted. Mr. can only further hinder , and his parental rights should be terminated. RECOMMENDATION ’s parental rights as to should be terminated for the following reasons: a. Mr. has not had contact with for over one year, which constitutes grounds for termination of parental rights pursuant to Miss. Code Ann. § 95-15-103(3) (a). b. Due to the fault of Mr. , the relationship between him and has substantially eroded, which constitutes grounds for termination of parental rights pursuant to Miss. Code Ann. §95-15-103 (3) (e). Mr. has contumaciously failed to satisfy his support obligations to . B. termination of the parental rights of as to is in ’s best interest for the following reasons: a. and provide a stable home environment for . b. There are strong emotional ties between , and . c. Mr. has contumaciously failed to meet his financial support obligations for . d. Mr. has failed to support the emotional needs of . e. is well-adjusted to his home, school and community. f. and have demonstrated the willingness and capacity to provide financial and emotional care for . g. has had continuity of care of , whereas Mr. has not had any meaningful participation in ’s life. h. thinks of as his dad. i. It is important to to have “ ” as his last name. j. and are financially able to provide for . k. Either or is available to supervise when he is not in school. 1. and are in good physical and mental health and are suitable and proper parents for . m. Although is not of an age sufficient to express a binding preference1 he desires to have Mr. ’s parental rights terminated. Accordingly, I join in the prayers for relief set forth in the petition for termination of parental rights filed cause no. . Sincerely yours,