In Jeffrey M. v. Ann B., 2020 N.Y. Slip Op. 20209 (N.Y. Fam. Ct. 2020), a case before the Family Court, Respondents Randall B. and Ann B. sought the dismissal of a Visitation Petition filed by Petitioner Jeffrey M. The court’s decision shed light on the complex dynamics of adoption…
In custody cases, regardless of the parents’ sexual orientation or the children’s adoption status, the paramount concern remains the well-being and best interests of the children involved. While this particular case involves a same-sex couple and adopted children, the fundamental principles guiding the court’s decision-making process are universal. The court…
According to DRL §111, consent from a parent is typically required for adoption in New York State. This applies to both parents unless specific circumstances exist. Consent is deemed necessary unless a parent’s rights have been legally terminated or if the parent has abandoned the child. In cases where a…
The long-standing policy in New York has been that parents have the right to have a relationship with their children and that it is generally in the best interests of the child for the courts to give parents and children the opportunity to foster a positive relationship. However, there are…
The Indian Child Welfare Act of 1978 (ICWA) was enacted in response to practices that separated large numbers of Native American children from their families and tribe. See 25 USC § 1901 et seq. It is common for representatives from the relevant Indian tribe to intervene in child custody proceedings involving Indian…
The issue before the court is whether a parent who adopted out her children had the right to seek custody of them upon learning that the children were being sexually abused by the adoptive father. The petitioner voluntarily surrendered her parental rights to her three children, 2 daughters and a…
The question presented is whether a child born out of wedlock, who is adopted out of his biological family at birth, is entitled to a share of a trust estate devised by his biological grandmother to her daughter’s issue. The Surrogate’s Court entered a decree in the child’s favor,…
Arkansas once had a state law that disallowed unmarried, cohabitating couples from becoming adoptive or foster parents – until the Arkansas Supreme Court declared it unconstitutional in a unanimous decision, Manhattan Family Lawyers report. They assert, with a circuit judge’s ruling, that the law unconstitutionally burdens fundamental privacy rights. “This…
Families who are looking to adopt a child from Nepal, or who are in the process of doing so, have been put on hold as adoption proceedings have been made more difficult in recent months because of fears of child trafficking, said a New York Family Lawyer. Dozens of families…