NOTICE OF SERVICE OF PROCESS BY PUBLICATION: STATE OF NORTH CAROLINA / DISTRICT COURT DIVISION / COUNTY OF CRAVEN / FILE NO. 26 JT 14 IN RE: L.R.K., A Minor Juvenile.

NOTICE OF SERVICE OF PROCESS BY PUBLICATION: STATE OF NORTH CAROLINA / DISTRICT COURT DIVISION / COUNTY OF CRAVEN / FILE NO. 26 JT 14 IN RE: L.R.K., A Minor Juvenile. TO: Any Unknown Birth Fathers - Take notice that an action has been commenced against you in the above referenced court file to terminate your parental rights to a male child born on August 22, 2025, in Asheville, Buncombe County, North Carolina, to Maggie Alisabeth Duncan (Caucasian female, then 25 years old, brown hair, hazel eyes, height 5'4, weight 135 lbs, fair complexion). The child was conceived in Gastonia, Gaston County, North Carolina, around December 2024. You are summoned and notified to answer the petition in which the petitioners ask the Court to terminate your parental rights to the above-named juvenile. Any written answer to the petition must be filed with the Clerk of Court within forty (40) days of the first publication of this notice on or before May 19, 2026. A copy of the answer must also be served on the petitioners and their lawyer. The Court will conduct a hearing to determine whether one or more grounds alleged in the petition for terminating parental rights exist. If the Court finds that one or more grounds exist, the Court will proceed at that hearing or a later hearing to determine whether parental rights should be terminated. Notice of the date, time and location of the hearing will be mailed to you by the petitioner after you file an answer or forty (40) days from the date of service if you do not file an answer. If you do not file a written answer to the petition with the Clerk of Superior Court, the Court may terminate your parental rights. You have a right to be represented by a lawyer in this case. If you want a lawyer and cannot afford one, the Court will appoint a lawyer for you. Contact the Craven County District Court, 302 Broad Street, New Bern, NC 28560, (252) 639-3000. If you are represented by a lawyer appointed previously in an abuse, neglect, or dependency case, that lawyer will continue to represent you unless the Court orders otherwise. At the first hearing, the Court will determine whether you qualify for a court-appointed lawyer. If you do not qualify, the provisional counsel will be released. If a lawyer is appointed for you and if the Court terminates your parental rights, you may become liable for repayment of the lawyer's fees, and a judgment for the amount of the fees may be entered against you. You are entitled to attend any hearing affecting your parental rights. As described above, the petitioners will mail you notice of the date, time, and location of the hearing. This the 6th day of April 2026. Angel S. Gillis, PO Box 80464, Raleigh, NC 27623 (4/9/2026, 4/16/2026, 4/23/2026) April 9, 16, 23 2026 LWLM0494310