In Re the Adoption of A.M.

930 N.E.2d 613, 2010 Ind. App. LEXIS 1307, 2010 WL 2846208
CourtIndiana Court of Appeals
DecidedJuly 21, 2010
Docket53A05-1002-AD-71
StatusPublished
Cited by11 cases

This text of 930 N.E.2d 613 (In Re the Adoption of A.M.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Indiana Court of Appeals primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
In Re the Adoption of A.M., 930 N.E.2d 613, 2010 Ind. App. LEXIS 1307, 2010 WL 2846208 (Ind. Ct. App. 2010).

Opinions

OPINION

BROWN, Judge.

MM. ("Grandfather") appeals the denial of his uncontested petition to adopt AM., Grandfather's biological granddaughter. Grandfather raises one issue, which we revise and restate as whether the trial court erred in denying Grandfather's uncontested petition to adopt A.M. We reverse and remand.1

The relevant facts ("Mother"), who is the daughter of Grandfather, and A.C. ("Father") are the biological parents of A.M., who was born on September 8, 2005. On April 24, 2009, Grandfather filed a petition for adoption of A.M. The petition stated in part:

[Mother] is the natural mother of said [A.M.] and she consents to said adoption and joins in this Petition for Adoption for purposes of maintaining her maternal rights and that she consents to said adoption by joining in this Petition for Adoption. [Mother] is not terminating or relinquishing her legal maternal rights.

Appellant's Appendix at 54. Father filed a consent to adoption.

On September 30, 2009, the trial court entered a decree of adoption which granted Grandfather's petition for adoption. The decree stated in part: "IT IS THEREFORE ORDERED, ADJUDGED AND DECREED by the Court that the above-entitled petition for the adoption of [A.M.] is hereby approved and granted and that by this order, [Mother] is not divested of her maternal rights due to the fact that she and [Grandfather] are not married." Id. at 59. On October 26, 2009, the trial court entered an Order Vacating Decree of Adoption, which stated:

The Court, on its own motion, now finds that the Decree of Adoption signed September 30, 2009 purports to terminate the parental rights of the [Father] and to permit the maternal grandfather to adopt. This order was entered in error. [615]*615It is therefore Ordered, Adjudged and Decreed that the Decree of Adoption entered September 30, 2009 is vacated, and this matter is set for further hearing on the 7th day of January, 2010 at 2:00 p.m. [Father] is ordered to appear at this hearing. The Petitioner shall provide notice to [Father] of the hearing.

Id. at 60.

On November 17, 2009, Grandfather filed a motion to correct error and argued that Father's "attendance at any hearing under this cause is neither required nor necessary." Id. at 61. After a hearing on December 2, 2009, the trial court stated that there was one issue: whether or not the adoption could be done under Indiana law. The court stated that "if the Court finds that this is an acceptable practice under Indiana Law the Court will grant the adoption." Transcript at 48.

On December 28, 2009, the trial court denied Grandfather's motion to correct error and denied Grandfather's petition for adoption. The trial court's order stated:

4. [Grandfather] concedes that there is no statutory authority that would allow a biological parent to maintain their [sic] parental rights following the issuance of a decree of adoption by a grandparent. Indeed, I.C. 31-19-15-1 appears to preclude this outcome.
# % x # C #
5. However, [Grandfather] correctly notes that, in certain narrowly defined situations, a biological parent has been allowed to maintain their parental rights following an adoption by a third party. See [In re Adoption of K.S.P.], 804 N.E.2d 1253 (Ind.Ct.App.2004). See also [In re Adoption of M.M.G.C.], 785 N.E.2d 267, 270 (Ind.Ct.App.2003); [In re Infant Girl W.J, 845 N.E.2d 229 (Ind.Ct.App.2006) I, trans. denied ]; [Mariga v. Flint], 822 N.E.2d 620 (Ind.Ct.App.2005).
6. The above-cited cases are highly fact specific. They do share a common component: The adoptive parent and the consenting parent cohabi-tate. The adults and the child form a cohesive family unit. The adoptive parent provides primary, day-to-day care for the child.
7. [Grandfather] concedes that he does not live in the same house as [A.M.], but argues that he provides significant emotional and financial support for the child. [Grandfather] does see [A.M.] 3 to 4 times per week. The child regularly visits his home. [Grandfather] is the primary male figure in [A.M.]'s life. He also provides significant financial support for the child. However, it cannot be said that [Grandfather], [Mother], and [A.M.] form a family unit as contemplated by the Appellate Court in [K.S.P.].
8. [Grandfather] argues that the holding in [KS.P.] should be expanded to include grandparents who do not reside in the child's home and who do not provide primary care for the child on an everyday basis. This may indeed be desirable. However, it is beyond the authority of the trial court to grant this relief. Modification of the Indiana adoption statutes, as urged by the petitioner, requires legislative, and not judicial, action.

Appellant's Appendix at 5-6.

The issue is whether the trial court erred in denying Grandfather's petition to [616]*616adopt A.M.2 Grandfather argues that he and ML.M. "are not proposing a 'new adoptive family' for A.M. To the contrary, all the evidence showed that they fully intend that nothing at all should change in [A.M.'s] life." Appellant's Brief at 6. Grandfather also argues that "[fJrom the child-centric point of view of [A.M.], everything would go on as before in that both [Grandfather] and [Mother] will continue to act as [A.M.'s] parents." Id.

On review, we will not disturb a trial court's ruling in adoption proceedings unless the evidence would lead to but one conclusion and the trial court reached the opposite conclusion. Adoption of M.M.G.C., 785 N.E.2d 267 (Ind.Ct.App.2003). We will neither reweigh the evidence nor assess the credibility of witnesses, and we will examine only the evidence most favorable to the trial court's decision. Id. We owe no deference, however, to a trial court's legal conclusions. Id.

The Indiana Supreme Court has held that the best interests of the child is the primary concern in an adoption proceeding. Adoptive Parents of M.L.V. v. Wilkens, 598 N.E.2d 1054, 1058 (Ind.1992). "IT )the adoption statute creates a statutory proceeding unknown at common law," and we "must strictly construe the statute in favor of the rights of biological parents." In re B.W., 908 N.E.2d 586, 592 (Ind.2009) (citing Adoptive Parents of M.L.V., 598 N.E.2d at 1056). Although the adoption statute is to be strictly construed, the statute is not to be so strictly construed as to defeat its purposes. Emmons v. Dinelli, 235 Ind. 249, 260-261, 133 N.E.2d 56, 61 (1956).

[617]*617We will first consider In re Adoption of M.M.G.C., 785 N.E.2d 267 (Ind.Ct.App.2003), and In re Adoption of KS.P., 804 N.E2d 1253, 1256 (Ind.Ct.App.2004), which are cited by the trial court and by Grandfather.

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In Re the Adoption of A.M.
930 N.E.2d 613 (Indiana Court of Appeals, 2010)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
930 N.E.2d 613, 2010 Ind. App. LEXIS 1307, 2010 WL 2846208, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/in-re-the-adoption-of-am-indctapp-2010.