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terribear17 · Oct 11, 2010, 09:01 AM

I have legal and physical custody of my 1/2 brothers 3 girls, 7, 5, and 2. I was given custody by S.C dss as they were involved in the case that my mother initiated against my brother. Anyway, I live in OH and my brother lives in NY. He and his girlfriend are constantly harassing us and threatening us by telling my sister and Facebook that they are going to take us to court to regain custody. How would I go about getting their rights terminated so my husband and I could adopt the girls. They have not paid support in over a year and have not had any contact with the girls since the middle of June 2010 as SC dss terminated visitation. They have a history of drug abuse and other criminal issues. Can I file abandonment against them as they are not paying support, and have had no contact with the girls in almost 4 months? Please respond. Thanks in advance for any help you can give!

AK lawyer · Oct 11, 2010, 09:23 AM

Originally Posted by terribear17

... How would I go about getting their rights terminated so my husband and I could adopt the girls.. . Can I file abandonment against them as they are not paying support, and have had no contact with the girls in almost 4 months?.

Depends. You would probably file a petition to adopt them, alleging abandonment (no need for a separate "abandonment" petition). How long have you had the girls in Ohio?

That's strange. I found this statutory section for someone else on this forum a few days ago:

3107.07 Consent unnecessary.
Consent to adoption is not required of any of the following:

(A) A parent of a minor, when it is alleged in the adoption petition and the court , after proper service of notice and hearing, finds by clear and convincing evidence that the parent has failed without justifiable cause to provide more than de minimis contact with the minor or to provide for the maintenance and support of the minor as required by law or judicial decree for a period of at least one year immediately preceding either the filing of the adoption petition or the placement of the minor in the home of the petitioner.
...

http://codes.ohio.gov/orc/3107

So if you are sure you want to do this, get an attorney and do it now while the condition remains that support has been unpaid for a one-year period. If they were to pay something now, before you file your petition, your case would be weaker.

JudyKayTee · Oct 11, 2010, 10:28 AM

I'm in NY which - depending on how long the girls have been with you - undoubtedly does NOT have jurisdiction. It's Ohio law, as quoted by AKLawyer. I read the law and I'm not sure what period has to pass without contact before it's abandonment. I very much doubt that 4 months is a sufficient time. Is there an Order that they pay support, an agreement, something else?

If Ohio terminated visitation I don't think you can use abandonment because they couldn't visit if they wanted to.

If you are asking for advice concerning threats on Facebook - I would take them as very empty threats by people who having nothing else to do with their time. I trust, though, that you are printing them out and saving them?

AK lawyer · Oct 11, 2010, 10:51 AM

Originally Posted by JudyKayTee

... If Ohio terminated visitation I don't think you can use abandonment because they couldn't visit if they wanted to. ...

We don't know if they were prohibited from any contact, all we know is that visitation was terminated. They could, as far as we know, have called, written, etc.

terribear17 · Oct 11, 2010, 10:59 AM

Just wanted to say thanks to the above posts for their helpful advice. Here's a few more details. My husband and I have had the girls placed with us for relative placement through South Carolina DSS while we lived in NY in Feb 2010. We had only physical custody. In August, we received legal and physical custody from South Carolina DSS as the girls parents didn't comply with any of their treatment plan. We then relocated to Ohio and have been here since. There was an order for support to DSS. The parents had to pay support to DSS. They have not paid a dime and are in arrears. I have no order of support currently. Should I seek one? Or will that just hurt my adoption petition when I file one? They are not going to pay either way.

terribear17 · Oct 11, 2010, 11:00 AM

They were prohibited from any contact, phone, written etc. from DSS.

AK lawyer · Oct 11, 2010, 11:26 AM

Originally Posted by terribear17

... There was an order for support to DSS. The parents had to pay support to DSS. They have not paid a dime and are in arrears. I have no order of support currently. ...

The operative language is, as I said, "to provide for the maintenance and support of the minor as required by law or judicial decree".

I interpret that to include being ordered to pay support to DSS. So no, I don't think you need your own support order. But you should consult with an Ohio attorney to be sure.

If you have only been in Ohio since August, I am not as sure about whether the Ohio law would apply for adoption purposes. The South Carolina Childrens' Code doesn't appear to have a provision similar to that I quoted from Ohio, but there may be a way to dispense with consent there too. South Carolina DSS would probably have to be consulted in any case.