Could Same Sex Marriage Case Affect Same Sex Adoptions in Michigan?

Melissa Cox, Esq.

A Michigan same-sex couple, April DeBoer and Jayne Rowse, have been at the center of the recent news coverage on the upcoming United States Supreme Court case on same sex marriage. The Supreme Court heard arguments on the case last week.

DeBoer and Rowse are both nurses who have each separately adopted two children. The Michigan Adoption Code allows individuals or married couples to adopt but not two unmarried persons.  Effectively, the law does not permit same-sex couples to jointly adopt.

The couple originally did not expect to be leading the way on marriage equality. However, after a health scare with one of their sons and a near-miss on what could have been a deadly car accident, they started to look more closely into the state’s laws. The couple discovered that if one of them died, a judge could give the children to someone other than their partner.

That led to their challenge of Michigan’s marriage law.

An estimated 110,000 thousand children across the country live with gay parents. If the Supreme Court strikes down same-sex marriage prohibitions, then states like Michigan that currently ban same-sex marriage would almost certainly see an increase in adoptions by same sex spouses.

If such couples are allowed to legally marry after the Supreme Court’s decision, then, DeBoer and Rowse, for example, could jointly adopt their four children together through a stepparent adoption, whereby a child can be adopted by their legal parent’s spouse.

However, other types of adoption may not increase so easily, as efforts are already underway in Michigan and other states that would may preempt the Supreme Court’s impending decision on gay marriage. In particular, legislation was recently introduced that would allow an adoption agency to select who they service based on “sincerely held religious beliefs contained in a written policy” (of the adoption agency).

Thus, whatever the Supreme Court’s decision on gay marriage, it appears the debate over same-sex adoption will continue in the coming years.

If you have any questions about adoptions in Michigan or questions about the Michigan Adoption Code, don’t hesitate to contact Attorney Melissa Cox. The adoption process can be complex, and at Fausone Bohn, LLP we serve as strong client advocates. Contact our Metro Detroit Office today at 248-468-4536 or visit us online at www.fb-firm.com.

You can read more on the upcoming Supreme Court case here: http://www.npr.org/2015/04/20/401007033/meet-the-accidental-activists-of-the-supreme-courts-same-sex-marriage-case

Recent Decision Brings Significant Consequences for Step-Parent Adoptions

Melissa Cox, Esq.

In an astounding opinion issued on April 18, 2013, Michigan’s Court of Appeals held that the trial court improperly granted a step-parent adoption under the adoption code, MCL 710.51(6), where the father with joint legal custody objected to termination of his parental rights, In the Matter of AJR, Docket No. 312100, [For Publication]. The Court of Appeals’ (“COA”) statutory interpretation of one word from MCL 710.51(6) made all the difference.

The COA held that since the child’s biological father was granted joint legal custody in the parties’ prior Judgment of Divorce, his parental rights could not be terminated pursuant to MCL 710.51(6) to facilitate a step-parent adoption without his consent.

Respondent Father’s trial attorney did not raise this objection in the trial court.  However, rather than refusing to consider the unpreserved issue for appeal, the COA said this:

… this Court may overlook preservation requirements if the failure to consider the issue would result in manifest injustice, if consideration is necessary for a proper determination of the case, or if the issue involves a question of law and the facts necessary for its resolution have been presented. Here, the issue presented is strictly an issue of law–statutory interpretation–and all of the requisite facts have been presented. Thus, in the interests of justice, we will review the issue. [Slip page 2, citations omitted]

The facts of the case were ripe for a step-parent adoption.  Respondent biological father and mother were married and had one child. They divorced. The mother was granted sole physical custody of the child, with both parents sharing joint legal custody. Father was ordered to pay child support and was granted him reasonable visitation with the child.

Years later, the mother married petitioner-stepfather. Approximately two years after their marriage, the mother and stepfather filed a petition for stepparent adoption and requested that the court terminate the parental rights of respondent father to allow stepfather to adopt. They properly alleged that respondent failed to provide regular and substantial child support and failed to maintain regular and substantial contact with the child during the two years prior to filing of the petition.

Respondent Father objected to termination of his parental rights. After a two-day trial, the trial court concluded that Respondent Father’s parental rights were lawfully terminated pursuant to MCL 710.51(6) because (1) respondent substantially failed to provide support for the child for the two years preceding the filing of the petition, and (2) respondent substantially failed to visit or communicate with the child during this two-year period. The trial court entered an order of adoption. On appeal, the Michigan Court of Appeals reversed, holding that MCL 710.51(6) does not apply to a parent who shares joint legal custody of a child.

Step-parent adoptions have been granted liberally under MCL 710.51(6) since enactment of the Adoption Code in 1974 on the requisite grounds that the respondent parent has failed, for a period of two years immediately preceding filing of the petition, to maintain regular and substantial contact with the child and has also failed to maintain a regular and substantial child support for the child.

Certainly, the objective of the Adoption Code is to achieve permanency, stability and security for children.  This Court of Appeals decision effectively prevents the stepparent adoption of any child whose absent parent holds a piece of paper stating that they have joint legal custody even if they have essentially abandoned the child.

The decision in In re AJR begs for a remedial legislative amendment to the Adoption Code. Any parent who substantially fails to provide support for his or her child for the two years preceding the filing of a step-parent adoption petition and who substantially fails to visit or communicate with his or her child during this two-year period should fall within MCL 710.51(6), and a Court should be empowered to terminate parental rights and grant a step-parent adoption.

 

If you have questions about adoptions or family law, contact attorney Melissa Cox at (248) 380-0000.

Detroit Celebrates Adoption Day

by Melissa Cox

Tuesday, November 23, 2010 will be a day of celebration in the courtroom of Hon. Mary Beth Kelly, Judge of the Third Circuit Court and Justice-Elect of the Michigan Supreme Court. She will preside at an Adoption Day commemoration which is open to the public.

Although adoption finalization hearings are generally private, the participating families and courts will open these hearings to the public, allowing others to witness the final stage of the adoption process. Also in attendance will be Michigan State University Associate Professor John Seita, Michigan Supreme Court Justice Robert Young, Jr., and Department of Human Services Director Ismael Ahmed.

If you would like to know more about adopting in Michigan, please contact Melissa Cox at mcox@fb-firm.com.

You can read more about this event at:
http://www.examiner.com/legal-news-in-detroit/adoption-day-celebrated-detroit

Adopting Online

By Melissa A. Cox

Social Media is the new adoption apparatus for many adoptive parents seeking birth mothers. The traditional use of adoption agencies or adoption facilitators can be costly, ranging from $10,000.00 to $25,000.00, and the wait for a baby can be months or years. The use of online resources to effectuate an independent adoption is cheaper, quicker, and reaches a larger audience.

Adoption experts have long advised that, when looking for an adoptive baby, “the more people who know you are looking, the better”. To help spread the word, prospective parents are utilizing social networking sites like Twitter, MySpace, YouTube and Facebook in the hope that their friends may know of a potential birth mom.

It is also a fact that many birth mothers are teens or young adults. They will often Google advice before they will even think of speaking with an adoption agency. So, of course, the chances of these mothers finding an adoptive parents’ YouTube video or Facebook page are high.

Of course, once an adoptive parent or parents finds their baby, they will need a competent adoption attorney to legalize the adoption. If you have any questions regarding Michigan adoption law, please contact Melissa Cox @ mcox@fb-firm.com.

You can read the CNN article here: http://articles.cnn.com/2009-03-10/tech/adoption.internet.advertise_1_adoptive-parents-adoption-agencies-adoption-experts?_s=PM:TECH