a case like no other

[bigmouthmomma]

state is indiana

question is this...how can a man who is in clear violation of the putative father laws win in the contest of adoption?

a case such as this is in appellate court right now. I will try to briefly explain the roles in this soap opera

MOTHER -- deceased. raised child on her own. no support, in any form, from father.

FATHER -- proved paternity four months after being served with adoption petition. has never paid any child support. has been arrested a minimum of six times since death of the mother. is currently incarcerated, homeless and jobless. Basically a puppet for his mother. Makes court appearances to appear concerned and interested in child. Realistically, has admitted that he is doing this because his mother told him to, and fully admits that he has no where to raise child.

MATERNAL AUNT & HER HUSBAND -- want to adopt child. not for sake of changing name, but for sake of providing child with as close to normal environment that can be made for child to grow up in. raising other children (cousins to child in question) who are very close to child in question. Have agreed to liberal visitation by all parties...father, grandparents, other half siblings, and any other relative interested if child resides with them.

PATERNAL GRANDMOTHER & HER HUSBAND -- basically bankrolling the contest of the adoption. For some reason, want child to live with them. Not taking into consideration that there are no other children in household and that they are a generation removed from the child rearing process. Above all else, grandmother combats several health issues, one of which is known as a manageable but terminal illness. Has refused visitation on several occasions with maternal relatives.

SO FOLKS, YOU TELL ME HOW THIS CAN HAPPEN? THIS GUY HAS OPENLY ADMITTED THAT HE HAS NO WHERE TO TAKE THE CHILD, AND HIS OWN MOTHER HAS ADMITTED THAT SHE WOULD NEVER ALLOW HIM TO TAKE THE CHILD ANYWHERE WITHOUT HER GOING ALONG AS WELL. SO WHY IS SHE PUTTING UP THIS FRONT YOU ASK? ONLY HEAVEN KNOWS.

I am open to all opinions, but more importantly, I ask for your prayers. It is all in the hands of the appellate judges now. IF you are interested in updates, contact me.

[Ohiogal]

Originally Posted by bigmouthmomma

state is indiana

question is this...how can a man who is in clear violation of the putative father laws win in the contest of adoption?

Explain how he is in clear violation of the putative father laws?

a case such as this is in appellate court right now. I will try to briefly explain the roles in this soap opera

MOTHER -- deceased. raised child on her own. no support, in any form, from father.

If there were no child support orders father was NOT legally responsible to support child.

FATHER -- proved paternity four months after being served with adoption petition. has never paid any child support.

He was not even the father then UNTIL a paternity test was performed that proved him the father. Which was four months after being served with the petition. If there is NO child support order he did not have to pay child support. That is plain and simple.

has been arrested a minimum of six times since death of the mother.

So what? He has not been declared legally unfit. What are his arrests for? Any crimes against children? How many CONVICTIONS has he had? For what was he convicted?

is currently incarcerated, homeless and jobless.

Okay he is in prison. Doesn't mean he is not the child's father. Homeless? Same thing. Doesn't mean he is not the child's father. Jobless? Again doesn't change that he is the child's father.

Basically a puppet for his mother. Makes court appearances to appear concerned and interested in child. Realistically, has admitted that he is doing this because his mother told him to, and fully admits that he has no where to raise child.

So what? He is still the child's father. His rights are paramount to yours or anyone else's but the mother's and mom is deceased. Until a court says otherwise, his rights supercede yours when it comes to the child. I am sure his mom will help him find a place to raise the child -- maybe even her house.

MATERNAL AUNT & HER HUSBAND -- want to adopt child. not for sake of changing name, but for sake of providing child with as close to normal environment that can be made for child to grow up in.

Define normal? That is not a legal term. There are minimums required for being able to raise a child. And your opinion of normal is not part of the legal definition.

raising other children (cousins to child in question) who are very close to child in question.

So what? They are cousins. Not siblings.
Have agreed to liberal visitation by all parties...father, grandparents, other half siblings, and any other relative interested if child resides with them.
You do not have the right to give visitation when this child is not yours. And dad doesn't have to consent to just visitation. He has a right to custody because he is the father. mom thought he was appropriate to have sex with and conceive a child with and bear his child. Your feelings and emotions do not override that. Your being nice about liberal visitation -- how are you defining that by the way? -- does not change the fact that a parent has a constitutional right to raise his/her child.

PATERNAL GRANDMOTHER & HER HUSBAND -- basically bankrolling the contest of the adoption. For some reason, want child to live with them.

Maybe they love the child. Maybe they want to help the child and help their son raise the child.

Not taking into consideration that there are no other children in household and that they are a generation removed from the child rearing process. Above all else, grandmother combats several health issues, one of which is known as a manageable but terminal illness. Has refused visitation on several occasions with maternal relatives.

SO WHAT? Many children are raised as only children. They do quite well. Many children are raised by grandparents -- they do quite well. Health issues? What do you KNOW about the health issues? Apparently this woman can function.

SO FOLKS, YOU TELL ME HOW THIS CAN HAPPEN? THIS GUY HAS OPENLY ADMITTED THAT HE HAS NO WHERE TO TAKE THE CHILD, AND HIS OWN MOTHER HAS ADMITTED THAT SHE WOULD NEVER ALLOW HIM TO TAKE THE CHILD ANYWHERE WITHOUT HER GOING ALONG AS WELL. SO WHY IS SHE PUTTING UP THIS FRONT YOU ASK? ONLY HEAVEN KNOWS.

I am open to all opinions, but more importantly, I ask for your prayers. It is all in the hands of the appellate judges now. IF you are interested in updates, contact me.

Legally dad has a right to contest. Legally dad has a right to custody. This is a legal forum NOT a prayer forum. Legally dad is doing nothing wrong and neither is his mother.

[BelizeBreeze]

How much you want to bet THIS poster is not related to the child's father

[Ohiogal]

Yep. OP is related to deceased mom. Hence dad is the Devil incarnate. Just a guess of course.

[LdiJ]

Originally Posted by Ohiogal

Legally dad has a right to contest. Legally dad has a right to custody. This is a legal forum NOT a prayer forum. Legally dad is doing nothing wrong and neither is his mother.

And if dad didn't have any rights, then the paternal grandparents would have slightly higher (or at least equal) standing to an aunt or uncle. Therefore, the situation would remain the same.

[Ohiogal]

Originally Posted by LdiJ

And if dad didn't have any rights, then the paternal grandparents would have slightly higher (or at least equal) standing to an aunt or uncle. Therefore, the situation would remain the same.

I dont know if I agree with what you are saying or not -- if dad does not have any rights then I do not understand how you think the paternal grandparents would have rights. But that is moot at this point. Dad is contesting the adoption which he has a right to do. And his parents have a right to provide him with him financial, emotional and whatever else type of support that they want to.

[nextwife]

Originally Posted by bigmouthmomma

Not taking into consideration that there are no other children in household and that they are a generation removed from the child rearing process. D

As a 51 year old MOM to my nine year old, only child, daughter, I find this part really amusing. Guess according to the poster, I'm not competent to raise a kid, nor to raise my kid if I have no siblings for her in the house (BTW- hubby was also an only child).