In Re Lauren F.

Syllabus

This case involves a petition to terminate the parental rights of a child's biological father and for step-parent adoption. The trial court terminated the biological father's rights on the ground of abandonment for failure to visit, abandonment for failure to support, and wanton disregard. The court held that termination was in the child's best interest. Biological father appeals asserting that the trial court erred in not granting him a continuance on the day of trial and that the trial court erred in its best interest determination. We vacate the trial court's conclusion that termination was warranted on the grounds of abandonment by failure to support and abandonment by engaging in conduct that exhibited wanton disregard for the child's welfare, but we affirm the trial court's conclusion that the biological father's rights should be terminated on the ground of failure to visit in the four months preceding his incarceration and that terminating his parental rights is in the best interest of the child. Therefore, we affirm the trial court's termination of the biological father's parental rights.