A stepparent petitioned to adopt Beau Woodall’s son and terminate Woodall’s parental rights. The trial court granted the petition after a history of child-support disputes, supervised visitation, counseling requirements, and periods in which Woodall had limited contact with the child. The Court of Appeals reversed. Termination based on a stepparent adoption required clear and convincing proof that Woodall had failed, without justifiable cause, to communicate with the child for the statutory period. The record showed that the mother repeatedly restricted or conditioned visitation, while Woodall made repeated attempts to telephone the child. The trial court and counselor had not clearly informed him that counseling was a prerequisite to all contact, and the evidence did not establish that his limited communication was unjustified. Because the statutory element was not proven by clear and convincing evidence, the court held that parental rights could not be terminated and the adoption could not proceed over Woodall’s objection.