A man is battling for custody of his 2-year-old daughter, who was put up for adoption immediately after her birth without him knowing. And, just when it seemed like he might have come out on top of this captivating child custody case, the Supreme Court in his state dashed his hopes.
A trial court originally granted the father custody, but more recently, the state’s high court put a hold on the ruling. The court did not indicate how long it would last.
Meanwhile, the man’s daughter remains in the custody of her adoptive parents, which have no obligation to allow the man to visit the girl.
The original ruling was made on Nov. 20, 2012 when the court determined that the girl was illegally put up for adoption. The man is a member of the United States military. He resided in Texas with his now ex-wife, where they conceived the child. Once they did, the man was sent to another part of the country for his role in the military, but planned to return to Texas and then move his entire family back out with him.
Instead, the woman made arrangements to put the child up for adoption. She lied to the adoption agency and said her husband had left her. She eventually gave birth in the neighboring state of Utah, where the dispute is now playing out. She gave up her parental rights.
When the girl’s father learned of the adoption in June of 2011, he contacted the adoptive family and the adoption agency, but his pleas were ignore. They pressed on with the adoption process. A judge in the trial court said the adoption process was violating the man’s legal right to parent his child, and dismissed the petition.
Both parties have been misled in this arrangement. The father did not know his own daughter was being put up for adoption, while the adoptive parents did not immediately know of the dishonesty involved in the process. Ultimately, a family law judge will make their final decisions based on the best interests of the child.
Source: The Salt Lake Tribune, “Utah Court puts temporary hold on returning adopted girl to dad,” Brooke Adams, Jan. 15, 2013