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Tammy956 · Jun 19, 2009, 07:14 PM

If you have turned over all of your parental right of a child and they were adopted by the mothers new husband when they were five do you have a legal right to contact them when they turn 18 if you want to?

ScottGem · Jun 19, 2009, 07:20 PM

Yes, once they are 18 they are an adult and parental rights have nothing to do with anything. Of course they may not want to contact you.

But until they are 18, their parents are in control.

Fr_Chuck · Jun 19, 2009, 07:26 PM

I guess I could ask a lot of questions about how you gave up your rights

But after the child is 18 they are no longer a child

Synnen · Jun 19, 2009, 07:41 PM

You don't have a legal RIGHT to contact anyone who is an adult. If they want no contact with you, you can't force them to.

However, you have no legal rights to your child, so you must wait until they are 18 to have contact without the child's parent's permission.

stinawords · Jun 19, 2009, 07:43 PM

As stated at 18 they are no longer a child and therefore parental rights don't apply anymore. So, if the bio parent was to agree to an adoption they would no longer be the legal parent but if they wanted to contact the adoptee is an adult sure. Keep in mind though that the adoptee (the used to be child) would have the right to make up their own mind and decide if he/she wanted to have contact with that person. Just like you and I can decide with whom we want to have contact. (any special cercumstances aside)

cdad · Jun 20, 2009, 07:53 AM

Originally Posted by Synnen

You don't have a legal RIGHT to contact anyone who is an adult. If they want no contact with you, you can't force them to.

However, you have no legal rights to your child, so you must wait until they are 18 to have contact without the child's parent's permission.

I have to disagree with this in part. I believe that the right remains as far as contact goes when its adult to adult. But the person being contacted has the ultimate choice of furthering the contact and allowing it to continue or ignoring it. I agree with the " must wait until child is 18 to contact " unless it was stated otherwise and it was an open adoption.

Synnen · Jun 20, 2009, 08:17 AM

Originally Posted by califdadof3

I have to disagree with this in part. I believe that the right remains as far as contact goes when its adult to adult. But the person being contacted has the ultimate choice of furthering the contact and allowing it to continue or ignoring it. I agree with the " must wait until child is 18 to contact " unless it was stated otherwise and it was an open adoption.

So I have the "right" to contact YOU?

Legally, there is NO connection between the biological parent and the adoptee. Once you relinquish parental rights, you have NO rights to your child. NONE.

Open adoptions allow contact, but ONLY at the discretion of the LEGAL parents.

No adult has the "right" to contact any other adult. We have the option to, the ability to, the tools to, the opportunities to, and the privilege to contact others---but not the RIGHT to do so.

ScottGem · Jun 20, 2009, 08:32 AM

Originally Posted by Synnen

No adult has the "right" to contact any other adult. We have the option to, the ability to, the tools to, the opportunities to, and the privilege to contact others---but not the RIGHT to do so.

This may be splitting hairs and playing the symantics game, but let me try to rephrase it.

An adult has the right to attempt or initiate contact with another adult. The other adult has the right to refuse or ignore such contact and to prohibit the other person from further attempts.

I definitely agree that no person, adult or child, has the right to impose themselves on another person without permission. But the problem here lies in how does one know they do not have permission until the attempt is made? Obviously, in the scenario here, the parent who rights were terminated has not right to contact the child without the legal parents permission. But once the child turns 18, its no longer up to the legal parents.

Synnen · Jun 21, 2009, 10:37 AM

I guess that what I was trying to point out is that it's not a "RIGHT".

We have the "right" to bear arms. We don't have the "right" to contact anyone we want to--if that weren't the case, there would not be "Do not call" lists.

You have the OPTION to try to initiate contact with anyone you like. They have the option of telling you to go to Hades.

I guess I don't see it as a legal RIGHT--but since I'm not a lawyer or a judge, I could be wrong.

Maybe it is semantics and splitting hairs, but what I was really trying to point out here is that there isn't a legal RIGHT involved with contacting a person you have no legal ties to. Once you sign away your parental rights, you HAVE no rights. Once the child is 18, then they are still legally no different than the person down the hall at the office that you think is cute and want to ask out. Both of them are legally related to you in the same way. Is it your RIGHT to talk to them, to communicate with them? I don't think so. It is, however, your option, privilege, chance, whatever--to attempt to communicate with either of those people.

I guess I'm protesting the use of the word "right". I don't think that parents have the "right" to talk to adult children they have NOT relinquished, either.

Probably beating a dead horse, and it probably is semantics--ut it still seems to me that the OP would have the OPTION to contact the child after he/she turns 18, not the RIGHT to.