infant "possession" is 9/10ths of the law??

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? MO

teen mother coerced by her mother to give baby up for adoption. (mom says "either abort or give up for adoption, you can't live here if you keep")

potential adoptive mother provided with guardianship papers, good for 1 year, signed by birth mother and her mother, however, birth father, his parents and birth mother's father all listed on guardianship papers but refuse to sign.

adoptive mother takes baby from hospital with incomplete guardianship papers.

Teen mother moves out of mother's apartment, asks attorney how to revoke guardianship and get baby back. birth mom's attorney says just go get baby, guardianship papers have not been filed in court or signed by a judge. potential adoptive mothers attorney says she is aware she has to give baby back and wants you to wait until morning to get him.

Next morning, potential adoptive mother refuses to give baby back. both attorneys tell potential adoptive mother she is now kidnapping because she has no legal right to keep the baby from his birth mother. Police say "your attorneys don't know the law" its not kidnapping because she was given the baby and she has papers that she believes gives her the right to keep him. Regardless of whether or not the signatures that ARE on the guardianship papers are legit. How are they supposed to be able to know the difference?

attorney says take police next time. police refuse to assist because it is a "civil matter." out of ignorance for custody laws, they will not take the baby away from one person and give to another unless being physically harmed in their sight regardless of incomplete guardianship papers, birth mothers rights, etc. because they don't know who should legally have child.

now what? how do you physically get a baby back from someone who refuses to give him back and police will not assist? The police actually suggested following her to grocery store and taking baby out of grocery cart because "possession is 9/10ths of the law"... is this seriously the only option?

nothing has ever been filed in court regarding guardianship, custody, adoption, etc. so there is nothing to go to court and un-do/revoke. Probate court says if she attempts to file the papers as-is, they most likely will not be accepted. That still doesn't get the baby back to his birth mother.What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)?

has the dad tried asking for the baby back? Since he didn't sign anything, she may be more willing to give the child back to him.

How long has she had the child?

can only imagine her heartbreak and that of the mother. Is the teen mom SURE she wants to be a mom and that her baby isn't better off elsewhere?

the mother NEEDS to go to court

Mom needs to file an emergency order for the return of her baby.

thanks for your responses

Hi milspecgirl - Ohiogal - I am actually the bio dad's mother. His gf has moved in with us, and she asked me to take her to get their baby back so I went with her to do this. The lady seemed a little unstable, irrational, so I can understand why she has been trying to adopt for 10 years and has continually had the babies taken back from her. For some reason she and her husband have never gone thru the necessary steps to qualify for adopting from an adoption agency, they are only qualified to adopt directly from an individual. In her mind, she believes she can keep the baby and then claim that he was abandoned and therefore, the mother's parental rights will be terminated...

The baby is now 2 months old and they already have a 1 year old baby boy together, so yes ready or not, they are parents. The decision of whether or not they are ready to be parents came when they decided to have sex. I would never ever demand or even suggest to anyone that they should give their child away. That has got to be a lifetime of torcher indescribable. I was 17 when I had my son and 19 when I had my daughter. Having kids is never easy, regardless of the parents ages.

The fact that she was coerced into signing the guardianship papers, and the fact that the potential adoptive couple offered them (bio parents) a truck upon signing of the adoption papers, took them out clothes shopping and provided them with cell phone and paid the monthly bill pretty much would ruin any chances of the adoption ever going thru because these are all illegal "benefits" at least in the state of missouri.

I suspect the attorneys were trying to take care of this the easy way, and it may be a difficult battle in court. But that's a member of my family, a child who shares my DNA, I will do whatever I can for my son and his girlfriend to undo the selfish crap caused by one person who should have been there to support her daughter instead of doing what she did.

And the fact that the bioparents as you call them accepted it means they engaged in the illegality as well. Babyselling comes to mind. So don't go throwing stones about the potential adoptive parents. Your son and his gf are NOT angels. As for being coerced, gf better be able to show more than what you have stated here to prove coercion because she was not coerced. She was given a choice. That is different.

dad signed nothing, therefore, he has every right to ask for the baby- he did not agree

I can't believe that the police won't help. All the potential adoptive mother has is guardianship paperwork that was NOT signed by a judge, and even her attorney is telling her that she has to give the baby back.

I think an emergency trip to court is needed and a request to the judge to order the police to assist in retrieving the child.

regarding the illicit "benefits"

Please keep in mind that we are talking about 2 minors who have no knowledge of adoption laws, let alone, bribery or coercion, and 2 adults who have been educated in the adoption process for at least 10 years from what I understand. The 2 minors were being taken advantage of because of their age, lack of legal knowledge and inexperience dealing with strangers who desparately want something they have. When I found out about the vehicle deal I had to explain to them what was really going on here.

For all we know, the birth mother's mother could have been receiving a "bonus" for coercing her daughter into this. I doubt it had anything to do with morals or family reputation, considering her mother lost their house because she was manufacturing meth and was in prison through her first pregnancy. That far outweighs any damage to her reputation that having a baby could ever do...

And yes what her mother did is coercion according to both attorneys who, up until now, we did not know are father and son of the same law firm. The "you can't live here" part came AFTER the baby was gone and the birth mother approached her mother about trying to get her baby back. THAT is when she realized she HAD a choice and moved out of there.

cjparis said:

Please keep in mind that we are talking about 2 minors who have no knowledge of adoption laws, let alone, bribery or coercion, and 2 adults who have been educated in the adoption process for at least 10 years from what I understand. The 2 minors were being taken advantage of because of their age, lack of legal knowledge and inexperience dealing with strangers who desparately want something they have. When I found out about the vehicle deal I had to explain to them what was really going on here.

For all we know, the birth mother's mother could have been receiving a "bonus" for coercing her daughter into this. I doubt it had anything to do with morals or family reputation, considering her mother lost their house because she was manufacturing meth and was in prison through her first pregnancy. That far outweighs any damage to her reputation that having a baby could ever do...

And yes what her mother did is coercion according to both attorneys who, up until now, we did not know are father and son of the same law firm. The "you can't live here" part came AFTER the baby was gone and the birth mother approached her mother about trying to get her baby back. THAT is when she realized she HAD a choice and moved out of there.

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You need to help these kids get another attorney, one that is NOT involved in the same firm as the other two. Emergency action needs to be taken.