There are a large number of adoptive couples in Tennessee who have opened the doors of their homes to accommodate children who were put up for adoption. In many such adoption cases, the adoptive parents have sole custody of the child and the child’s biological parents have no contact with the child because they are either unable or unfit to provide for the child’s needs.
However, there are several cases where adoptive parents and biological parents have been engaged in legal fights over child custody because of a sudden turn of events in their lives.
Recently, a couple from Dickson, Tennessee, challenged the ruling of the Dickson County Juvenile Court over the overturning of a child custody order they had received for adopting a three-year-old child in 2006.
According to reports, the court of appeals overturned the child custody decision in 2009 citing that the trial court faltered in terminating the parental rights of the biological father. At that time the biological father was in jail, for what was to be a 15-year sentence. It was on these grounds that the trial court terminated his parental rights.
However, when the biological father’s sentence was reduced, the court reinstated his parental rights. Finally, in January 2014, the Dickson County Juvenile Court awarded child custody to the child’s biological father, and since then the child has been living with him in Nebraska.
The adoptive parents chose to file a petition through a website for bringing changes to the federal Adoption and Safe Families Act and urged representatives in Tennessee and Nebraska to express their concern over this matter. According to the couple, the child does not know the biological father and it is in the best interests of the child to continue living with the adoptive parents in Tennessee.
Considering how complicated child custody disputes can often become, it may be a wise to consult with an attorney to represent the best interests of the child and protect the rights of the child and those of the parents.
Source: The Tennessean, “Dickson couple whose adoption was overturned fights to change law,” Colleen Creamer, Mar. 13, 2014
