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cricketb · Mar 31, 2011, 07:55 AM

Synnen · Mar 31, 2011, 07:58 AM

Oh really? How did she do that?

That's extremely difficult to do, you know.

If you can PROVE that she committed fraud and perjury in the court, you can get your parental rights back.

Can you give us more information, please?

excon · Mar 31, 2011, 07:58 AM

Hello c:

Ok, then get a lawyer and go back to the court that granted her petition and move to vacate it.

excon

cricketb · Mar 31, 2011, 08:02 AM

I had supervised visitation for 1 year. I took my father with me to pick up my son. She refused, we went and filed a report with the local police station. Her grounds for taking my rights were abandonment. I've seen the legal documents relinquishing my rights and the adoption and name change. They are now divorced and both of us are responsible for child support?

southamerica · Mar 31, 2011, 08:06 AM

I'm going to lay out the facts, so that way someone with legal expertise can answer more clearly:

-You had supervised visitation
-On one of those visits she refused, claiming "abandonment"
-You filed a report with the police station
-You have since seen reports that show your rights have been relinquished
-She was remarried, and her husband had adopted the child
-Now they are divorced, and both you and her new ex husband are responsible for child support

Is this correct?

excon · Mar 31, 2011, 08:06 AM

Hello c:

It sounds like you slept on your rights... That's the same thing as giving her consent.

excon

cricketb · Mar 31, 2011, 08:08 AM

Yes, visitation was refused more than once over year period

cricketb · Mar 31, 2011, 08:09 AM

My father and I were paying rent and supplying groceries for my son and her new family. Attempted to see my son numerous times and was not allowed.

Synnen · Mar 31, 2011, 08:13 AM

How long ago was this?

excon · Mar 31, 2011, 08:14 AM

Originally Posted by cricketb

My father and I were paying rent and supplying groceries for my son and her new family. Attempted to see my son numerous times and was not allowed.

Hello again, c:

Your rights are enforced by a court of law - NOT the mother. If you DIDN'T seek your rights IN COURT, then you lost them. It can't be that you weren't informed. The SAME court that granted "supervised visitation", would be the one that would end your parental rights. That court certainly knew where you lived. You MUST have been informed...

However, on the off chance that you weren't, then you CAN get them reinstated. Like I said earlier, it's going to take a lawyer.

excon

southamerica · Mar 31, 2011, 08:18 AM

If a child is legally adopted (which is what I'm guessing in this case), would the bio father still be responsible for child support? OP says that both he and the adoptive father are responsible for child support.

cricketb-are you still court ordered to pay child support?

cricketb · Mar 31, 2011, 08:23 AM

They are still taking my income tax for child support, I try to send her support but she sends it back. For some reason they are not garnishing my wages.

cricketb · Mar 31, 2011, 08:27 AM

I was incarcerated for 4 years, this was done one month after I was locked up. They approached me and asked me to sign. I attempted to contact them throughout, calls refused and letters too. My family tried to visit and help and were refused. I saw her and my son a week after I got out, she said she wanted to take it slow with visitation. She never mentioned the termination of rights. It wasn't until 6 months later and several attempts at contact by me that she produced the papers

excon · Mar 31, 2011, 08:31 AM

Hello again, c:

Apparently, you've had a LOT of contact with the courts and the state about your divorce and your obligations... Plus, this has happened over a period. During that time, as I suggested above, you SLEPT ON YOUR RIGHTS. You can't come to us at the end of this long process and expect us to be able to fix it. There were things you COULD have been doing and SHOULD have been doing. Because you DIDN'T, you're screwed.

excon

excon · Mar 31, 2011, 08:34 AM

Hello again, c:

Our last posts crossed.. But, the advice is the same... You're screwed, and WITHOUT a lawyer, you're going to STAY screwed.

excon

Synnen · Mar 31, 2011, 08:43 AM

This is from OVER FOUR YEARS AGO?

Don't even bother with more details here---you will get NOWHERE without a lawyer, and a very GOOD lawyer. Plan to spend your entire retirement fund fighting this.

You have to PROVE she knew where to serve you relinquishment papers. You have to PROVE that you didn't abandon your child (though abandonment isn't usually a reason for termination). You have to PROVE that her reasons for terminating your rights were WRONG---and you won't do that more than 4 years later without a lawyer.

As far as your child support goes--are you paying BACK support? You owe back support until it is paid off. You should owe no support from the point of the adoption forward, though.

You NEED a lawyer. You will NEVER get through this mess without one.

GV70 · Mar 31, 2011, 09:01 AM

Every story has two sides.
I guess the OP was incarcerated,step-parent adoption was allowed and now the OP pays his unpaid child support debts.

The OP really needs a good lawyer.

GV70 · Mar 31, 2011, 09:05 AM

Originally Posted by southamerica

If a child is legally adopted (which is what I'm guessing in this case), would the bio father still be responsible for child support? OP says that both he and the adoptive father are responsible for child support.

cricketb-are you still court ordered to pay child support?

I guess again-the adoptive father is ordered to pay child support, the OP is ordered to pay back child support.

southamerica · Mar 31, 2011, 09:09 AM

Originally Posted by GV70

I guess again-the adoptive father is ordered to pay child support, the OP is ordered to pay back child support.

Yes, I also have come to this conclusion after all of the details have been laid out.

ScottGem · Apr 1, 2011, 03:44 AM

First, please use the Answer Options at the bottom of this thread for follow-up questions and info, not the Comments

Originally Posted by cricketb

They are still taking my income tax for child support, I try to send her support but she sends it back. For some reason they are not garnishing my wages.

Yes, you owed back support at the time of the adoption so they are trying to recover that, but since the adoption ends the support order, that's why they are not taking further support.

Originally Posted by cricketb

I was incarcerated for 4 years, this was done one month after I was locked up. They approached me and asked me to sign. I attempted to contact them throughout, calls refused and letters too. My family tried to visit and help and were refused. I saw her and my son a week after I got out, she said she wanted to take it slow with visitation. She never mentioned the termination of rights. It wasn't until 6 months later and several attempts at contact by me that she produced the papers

In the first response to your question Synnen asked for more information you've been giving it to us in bits and pieces forcing us to make guesses. Finally in post #13 you give us some meat to go on. But you still leave a lot of things unsaid

My questions are; did you ever sign those papers? What were you incarcerated for? You said you were in for 4 years. So how long have you been out? You were asked how long ago this happened, but you didn't really answer that.

I'm still guessing here, but it sounds like you were considered a potential danger to the child hence the supervised visits. Then you got yourself convicted of some crime that led to 4 years in prison. The mother had married by this time so moved to have the husband adopt the child. You were given papers to sign to relinquish your rights. Whether you signed them or not is unclear, but the mother was able to get a TPR probably based on your criminal record.

If this is the story, then you have almost no chance to get your rights back. No fraud was committed, the mother went through the courts, you were properly served with the paperwork. You haven't explained what you did to fight the adoption, but apparently it was either nothing or not enough so the court granted it.

So now, several years later, you are trying to fight it. I doubt if the court will even hear your case. But I KNOW they won't unless you have legal counsel.

But frankly, I wouldn't waste my time and money. I don't think you are going to get the adoption overturned so your child is gone. Gone, mostly because of mistakes you have made in your life. So you need to understand you messed up and move on to try to get your life together. MAYBE, if you can prove that you are a changed person, the mother will allow you to be a small part of your child's life. Or maybe, AFTER the child turns 18, you will be able to make contact.