In re Williams

915 N.W.2d 328, 501 Mich. 289
CourtMichigan Supreme Court
DecidedMay 18, 2018
DocketDocket No. 155994; Calendar No. 3
StatusPublished
Cited by7 cases

This text of 915 N.W.2d 328 (In re Williams) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Michigan Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
In re Williams, 915 N.W.2d 328, 501 Mich. 289 (Mich. 2018).

Opinion

McCormack, J.

At issue is the ability of the parent of an Indian child to withdraw his consent to the termination of his parental rights for the purpose of adoption before a final order of adoption has entered. Typically, a termination of parental rights becomes final and irrevocable when a court enters the termination order. The Legislature carved out an exception to this general rule, however, for the parents of Indian children who voluntarily release their parental rights or consent to termination of those rights under the Michigan Indian Family Preservation Act (MIFPA), MCL 712B.1 et seq . MIFPA, like its federal progenitor, the Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA), 25 USC 1901 et seq ., was enacted to "[p]rotect the best interests of Indian children and promote the stability and security of Indian tribes and families." MCL 712B.5(a). The protections in both acts aim to address the historical injustice caused by the removal of Indian children from their families and tribes. ICWA sets a floor, establishing the minimum national standards that must be met before an Indian child may be removed from his or her family in the context of child protective proceedings. 25 USC 1902. MIFPA similarly provides special protections when an Indian child is involved in certain proceedings in Michigan courts. Sometimes the protections afforded under MIFPA are greater than those provided under ICWA, as with the issue we consider today: when may the parent of an Indian child withdraw consent to the termination of parental rights.

Jack Williams, a member of the Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians (Sault Tribe), has two children, both of whom are eligible for tribal membership and are Indian children as defined in MIFPA. The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) instituted child protective proceedings against Williams, but before the trial court terminated Williams's parental rights to the children, he released those rights under §§ 28 and 29 of the Michigan Adoption Code, MCL 710.28 and MCL 710.29. DHHS did not object, and the court accepted his release.

Before the adoptions of his children were finalized, Williams filed a notice in the trial court to withdraw his consent to the termination of his parental rights, citing MIFPA's withdrawal provision, MCL 712B.13(3). But the trial court denied his request because he had released his children to DHHS rather than to a specific adoptive parent. The Court of Appeals affirmed, but for different reasons.

Williams believes the plain language of MCL 712B.13(3) entitled him to withdraw his consent because the trial court had not yet entered a final order of adoption for his children. We agree.

I. FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND

Williams's children were first removed from his care and placed in foster care in 2012, and DHHS eventually filed a petition to terminate Williams's parental rights. Before the termination hearing, however, Williams consented to the termination of his parental rights by executing releases under §§ 28 and 29 of the Adoption *330Code. Williams signed State Court Administrative Office (SCAO) forms releasing his parental rights to both children "for the purpose of adoption" and accompanying statements of his intent to sign for both children a "Release of the Child for Purposes of Adoption." DHHS did not object.

As acknowledged by Williams, a referee had advised him that there was no guarantee that the minor children would be adopted by their foster parents. The referee accepted Williams's releases, referred the case to an adoption agency, and entered standard orders terminating Williams's parental rights based on the releases and accompanying statements.1 The children's foster parents then petitioned to adopt the children. But the Sault Tribe intervened and objected to the adoption under ICWA and MIFPA, which require that proper notice of child custody proceedings be given to the child's tribe, enable tribes to intervene in such proceedings, and allow tribes to object to an adoption.

As a result, the trial court denied the foster parents' adoption petition and placed the children with new foster parents. That same month, after having learned that the original foster parents' petition to adopt the children had been denied, Williams filed a request to withdraw his consent to the termination of his parental rights under MCL 712B.13(3) of MIFPA.

The trial court denied Williams's request, holding that Williams was not entitled to withdraw his release once the court had entered the order terminating his parental rights because Williams had released his children to DHHS rather than to a specific adoptive parent. The Court of Appeals affirmed, but for different reasons. It held that Williams could not withdraw his release because he had not executed a separate consent under MCL 712B.13(1) and, because MCL 712B.15 of MIFPA applies when a release is executed under §§ 28 and 29 of the Adoption Code during a child protective proceeding brought under MCL 712A.2(b), MCL 712B.15"does not address or provide for withdrawal of the release." In re Williams , 320 Mich. App. 88, 120-121, 902 N.W.2d 901 (2017).2 This Court granted leave to appeal to address whether, under MIFPA, Williams was entitled "to withdraw his consent to the termination of his parental rights for the purpose of adoption at any time before entry of a final order of adoption. MCL 712B.13(3)." In re Williams , 501 Mich. 870, 870-871, 901 N.W.2d 856 (2017).

II. LEGAL BACKGROUND

A. STANDARD OF REVIEW

We review de novo the interpretation and application of statutes. In re Sanders , 495 Mich. 394, 404, 852 N.W.2d 524 (2014). That means we review these questions independently, with no required deference to the trial court. If statutory language is unambiguous, we enforce it as written.

*331Fluor Enterprises, Inc v. Dep't of Treasury , 477 Mich. 170, 174, 730 N.W.2d 722 (2007).

B. STATUTORY BACKGROUND OF ICWA AND MIFPA

Congress enacted ICWA in part because "an alarmingly high percentage of Indian families are broken up by the removal, often unwarranted, of their children from them by nontribal public and private agencies...." 25 USC 1901.

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

In Re L a Ledee Minor
Michigan Court of Appeals, 2026
In Re E M Berry Minor
Michigan Court of Appeals, 2025
In Re Jcr ii/jcr/jcr/jcr
Michigan Court of Appeals, 2024
In Re Bowerman Minors
Michigan Court of Appeals, 2024
D in Re peters/brinton/mathews Minors
Michigan Court of Appeals, 2024
In Re Peterson Minors
Michigan Court of Appeals, 2021
in Re Williams Minors
Michigan Court of Appeals, 2019
In re Beers
926 N.W.2d 832 (Michigan Court of Appeals, 2018)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
915 N.W.2d 328, 501 Mich. 289, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/in-re-williams-mich-2018.