There are regulations and processes in place to help ensure that a biological parent cannot come back years down the road to take back a child who has been adopted by another family. Even with these guidelines in place, however, there are still cases in which adoption issues arise. In these cases, adoptive parents in Florida, and other states, may be at risk of losing a child they have cared for and grown to love to that child’s biological parents.
A Missouri couple will reportedly be allowed to keep the son they adopted in 2008 after a more than six-year dispute with the child’s biological mother. According to reports, the couple took in the boy in October 2007, but it was not detailed whether they were fostering the boy at that time. His biological mother purportedly had her parental rights terminated, which she claimed was done improperly, while incarcerated for being in the U.S. without legal authorization. It was reported that she lost her rights after a county judge found that she had not made an adequate effort to provide for the boy, or to maintain contact with him, while she was in jail.
An appellate court reportedly overturned the county judge’s initial decision, but the state’s Supreme Court later found fault with that ruling and ordered a new trial. The second trial at the county level also found the biological mother’s parental rights should be terminated. The case was brought to an end recently when the U.S. Supreme Court decided it would not hear the case, effectively cementing the county trial’s rulings.
Even under straightforward circumstances, the adoption process can be difficult. Parents who are considering adopting a child may find it of benefit to obtain legal representation to help look out for their interests.
Source: The Carthage Press, “Adoption case ends at U.S. Supreme Court,” John Hacker, July 1, 2014
