I'm hoping there are some people in here with legal knowledge. What I'm looking for is info on what would happen if a baby was abandoned and, about a year or so later, when the baby is either adopted or in the process of being adopted (whichever would work better), the birth mother shows up and wants him back. In this case she did actually abandon him because it was the only way she could think of to save him from his horrible father. But what would happen? I was told by a lawyer that such a case absolutely could happen and he said he would give me the name of a lawyer who would know more about that kind of case, but I still don't have the name of someone to call and I'm at the point where I really need to know. Does anyone in here know about that kind of legal case? Thank you in advance if anyone does!
Custody suit in an abandonment case
- Thread starter Troyen
- Start date
- Status
Immensely complicated question, with both a lot of fact questions and what the law in the jurisdiction was. Several of these types of cases have been in the news over the last 20 years.
Does it happen? Yes. Is the parent usually successful? No. Based upon your fact pattern, which although it might make sense to some people, will not make sense to a judge. There are a whole lot of legal steps between abandonment of a child and an adoption that the mother blew off. Unless she has an extremely good answer to why, shes going to lose.
I'd suggest a long session with either CORPUS JURIS SECUMDUM (my preference) or AMERICAN JURISPRUDENCE reading about child custody abandonment and adoption. Your book is going to be heavy on the law to make this credible.
Jim Clark-Dawe
Does it happen? Yes. Is the parent usually successful? No. Based upon your fact pattern, which although it might make sense to some people, will not make sense to a judge. There are a whole lot of legal steps between abandonment of a child and an adoption that the mother blew off. Unless she has an extremely good answer to why, shes going to lose.
I'd suggest a long session with either CORPUS JURIS SECUMDUM (my preference) or AMERICAN JURISPRUDENCE reading about child custody abandonment and adoption. Your book is going to be heavy on the law to make this credible.
Jim Clark-Dawe
The answer surely depends on the place and time. In the U.S. I believe that's a state matter, states have different laws. And laws change. If this is holding you up, write it the way you think it would go and go back later, once you've found more info, to fill in or change.
Barbara -- Although sometimes the approach of write it and then figure out how the real world operates works, it probably won't in this case.
Very broadly speaking, when the child is abandoned, a petition for abuse/neglect would be filed by child services. There would be several hearings, where two things would happen. The child would progress from temporary placement, to long-term placement, to foster care. How quickly this happens would depend upon the child, its age, and how the state has this structured. Meanwhile, the state would be attempting to contact the mother, as the court determines whether the mother (and father) had abused or neglected the child, and whether the rights of the parents (both) need to be terminated.
Once the court determines that the parents' rights should be terminated, an entirely new process, or phase of the process, depending upon how the state structures this, to terminate those rights begins. Even more strict requirements to notify the parents exist, so even stronger efforts to contact the parents will be made.
Once the parental rights are terminated, then the child is available for adoption. Once the child is placed for adoption, an adoption proceeding commences. At this point, there is less of a requirement to notify the natural parents, as their rights have been terminated. But making sure the adoption is the right step can take some time.
Time span for this can be a couple of months to years. Failure to show usually results in something along the middle of the time span. Steps can be combined, based upon the facts of the case, agreements reached by the parties, and state law. But notice how even in this very simplified explanation how complex everything is. It's not something that you can wing without having an idea of how the system works.
Jim Clark-Dawe
Very broadly speaking, when the child is abandoned, a petition for abuse/neglect would be filed by child services. There would be several hearings, where two things would happen. The child would progress from temporary placement, to long-term placement, to foster care. How quickly this happens would depend upon the child, its age, and how the state has this structured. Meanwhile, the state would be attempting to contact the mother, as the court determines whether the mother (and father) had abused or neglected the child, and whether the rights of the parents (both) need to be terminated.
Once the court determines that the parents' rights should be terminated, an entirely new process, or phase of the process, depending upon how the state structures this, to terminate those rights begins. Even more strict requirements to notify the parents exist, so even stronger efforts to contact the parents will be made.
Once the parental rights are terminated, then the child is available for adoption. Once the child is placed for adoption, an adoption proceeding commences. At this point, there is less of a requirement to notify the natural parents, as their rights have been terminated. But making sure the adoption is the right step can take some time.
Time span for this can be a couple of months to years. Failure to show usually results in something along the middle of the time span. Steps can be combined, based upon the facts of the case, agreements reached by the parties, and state law. But notice how even in this very simplified explanation how complex everything is. It's not something that you can wing without having an idea of how the system works.
Jim Clark-Dawe
Thank you, everyone! I know it is complex and, as this is fiction (and I'm not a lawyer), I will probably not get everything totally right. I want to get it at least reasonable though. It is a story and, in fiction, there has to be some room for creative choices. It is something I notice every time I read a book for see a movie that involves infertility. I went through that, so I know when they have stuff in there that is just not realistic. But, as a writer, I know that we can't all know everything about everything or understand it all. And sometimes, for the the sake of the story, we take some creative liberties. I just don't want to be way out there where it is not even believable. And I never said the birth mother will be successful. I just want to make sure that the case happening is plausible and have a general idea of how it would go. Again, thank you to all of you! This is helpful and, with luck, I will find a source to ask my questions to.
In Florida, and in general, an abandoned baby would be sent to child services and the parental rights would be terminated. That means the parent can't easily sue for custody since they don't have any custodial rights available. The child would not be eligible for adoption until that was settled, though they could, and likely would, go to a foster home (Bad prospect for children in Florida...).
But...
Every case is different and a suit can be filed for any reason. A family court judge might find a reason to restore parental rights, anywhere from visiting rights to full custody. It's going to depend on the lawyer here. And you're going to have to prove parentage as well as the fact that she thought it was in the baby's best interest.
How the baby was "abandoned" is also an issue. Surrendered to the state versus left on the steps of a church or fire station versus left behind the dumpster at the local Chinese takeout. The later would likely get the mother arrested.
A lot depends on what you need for your story, then you're going to have to figure out how to make that happen.
Jeff
But...
Every case is different and a suit can be filed for any reason. A family court judge might find a reason to restore parental rights, anywhere from visiting rights to full custody. It's going to depend on the lawyer here. And you're going to have to prove parentage as well as the fact that she thought it was in the baby's best interest.
How the baby was "abandoned" is also an issue. Surrendered to the state versus left on the steps of a church or fire station versus left behind the dumpster at the local Chinese takeout. The later would likely get the mother arrested.
A lot depends on what you need for your story, then you're going to have to figure out how to make that happen.
Jeff
- Joined
- Oct 24, 2011
- Messages
- 23,122
- Reaction score
- 10,882
- Location
- Where faults collide
- Website
- doggedlywriting.blogspot.com
As a reader, I find stories (ones set in the real world, anyway) that get things wrong about how biology works, or how our legal system works, to be jarring. How jarring depends on how big the mistake was, and on how central it is to the story. A story whose entire premise is based on something that could not, in the place and time of the story, happen might be a wall banger for me.
So I think Jim is right that this is not one of those stories where you can write and fill in the details later, or simply fudge things in service of the plot. High-profile abandonment and custody cases crop up often enough in the news that readers will probably have a sense of what is plausible, even without detailed legal knowledge. You need to do some research into cases in Florida in particular, because states do differ in their laws.
One thing that might make a difference in how it plays out legally is whether or not the child is abandoned somewhere that endangers them versus being abandoned via legal surrender. Abandonment of a child in a manner that endangered them would count as abuse and neglect, I believe, and this would make it even less likely the abandoning parent would be granted custody later, if they changed their mind.
I believe many states allow babies to be legally surrendered at hospitals and other such places. Another factor would be whether or not the abusive father wants custody of this child, if he can be found. Sadly, abusive partners (and rapists) are sometimes granted custody or partial custody of their kids, especially if the rapist or abuser was never convicted and/or there are no police reports or other documentation of the abuse.
So I think Jim is right that this is not one of those stories where you can write and fill in the details later, or simply fudge things in service of the plot. High-profile abandonment and custody cases crop up often enough in the news that readers will probably have a sense of what is plausible, even without detailed legal knowledge. You need to do some research into cases in Florida in particular, because states do differ in their laws.
One thing that might make a difference in how it plays out legally is whether or not the child is abandoned somewhere that endangers them versus being abandoned via legal surrender. Abandonment of a child in a manner that endangered them would count as abuse and neglect, I believe, and this would make it even less likely the abandoning parent would be granted custody later, if they changed their mind.
I believe many states allow babies to be legally surrendered at hospitals and other such places. Another factor would be whether or not the abusive father wants custody of this child, if he can be found. Sadly, abusive partners (and rapists) are sometimes granted custody or partial custody of their kids, especially if the rapist or abuser was never convicted and/or there are no police reports or other documentation of the abuse.
Yes, it is plausible and has happened.
But seriously, Georgia has a bunch of legal libraries. Any of them should have CORPUS JURIS SECUMDUM. This is a legal encyclopedia and readable, although it will take some work. Take a day. Start with Volume 67A -- Parent and Child. You'll quickly get a feel for the process, and even more importantly, how important the facts are. You might even find cases that are exactly what you're looking for.
What a writer doesn't know, they should research. And sometimes that means opening a book and reading. You don't have to master it, but you do need a basic understanding. Mom winning or losing is a choice of the author, but the why Mom wins or loses should be based upon what would happen in the real world. If you listen to the legal commentator on news shows, you'll start to notice how predictable legal cases often are.
As WeaselFire commented, how the child is abandoned is important and leaving in a dumpster is likely to end in an arrest. But why does leaving a child in a safe situation with a good note so important to giving yourself a good case for fighting an abandonment hearing?
Jim Clark-Dawe
By the way, this type of case just made the news in Orlando. Someone abandoned a newborn in an apartment complex. Not had the boy's name and said the mother couldn't provide for him. Police are looking for the mother.
Jeff
Jeff
- Status