Step parent adoption issue

[thefishguy]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Ohio

In 2006 I adopted my wifes two daughters. Originally their biological father contested the adoption but then did not show up for the second hearing. He was a dead beat dad and the adoption would have gone through no matter what. This coming from the judge. Fast foreward to this evening where my wife gets a corespondence from her ex-husbands wife saying that the adoption of one of the daughters was illegal because he is not the biological father. He has a made a few months worth of child support payments but now does not want to make payments on the one daughter, only the one he knows is his. They say they have gotten a lawyer and they want a paternaty test done to prove he was not the father of the other girl. Catch is he knows he's not the biological father as my wife was preganant with her when they met. When she was born he signed the birth certificate saying he was her father. He had the opportunity to say he was not her biological father when he and my wife got divorced, he also had the opportunity when I adopted the girls. We had told our lawyer that his name was on her birth certificate but was not her biological father. Our lawyer said it did not matter. My questions are:

1. Do they have a case?
2. Can my odoption of the one girl be overturned?

Thank you for your time.

 

[thefishguy]

I should add that he was ordered to pay child support in 2002 when he and my wife got divorced. He paid none until recently.

 

[Proserpina]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Ohio

In 2006 I adopted my wifes two daughters. Originally their biological father contested the adoption but then did not show up for the second hearing. He was a dead beat dad and the adoption would have gone through no matter what. This coming from the judge. Fast foreward to this evening where my wife gets a corespondence from her ex-husbands wife saying that the adoption of one of the daughters was illegal because he is not the biological father. He has a made a few months worth of child support payments but now does not want to make payments on the one daughter, only the one he knows is his.

Why is he paying child support if YOU adopted the children?

They say they have gotten a lawyer and they want a paternaty test done to prove he was not the father of the other girl. Catch is he knows he's not the biological father as my wife was preganant with her when they met. When she was born he signed the birth certificate saying he was her father. He had the opportunity to say he was not her biological father when he and my wife got divorced, he also had the opportunity when I adopted the girls. We had told our lawyer that his name was on her birth certificate but was not her biological father. Our lawyer said it did not matter. My questions are:

1. Do they have a case?
2. Can my odoption of the one girl be overturned?

Thank you for your time.

What's your goal here?

 

[thefishguy]

He is paying child support because he was ordered to in 2002 when he and my wife got divorced.
It wasn't until 2006 when I adopted the girls did he have to stop paying.
He owes my wife (4)four years of back child support for two children!
He has made payments for the past three months!
Now he want's to stop making payments for the one girl, thus cutting what he owes in half and possibly jeapordizing my adoption of the one girl.

What is my goal here? Are you kidding? I do not have a "goal"!
I'm flipping out because for the past six years we hear not a peep from this dead beat and now all of a sudden he thrust back into our lives.
I am scared he's going to tear apart our family!
I'm scared he's going to show up at my front door!
I am scared...
He is a drug addict and a criminal!
He's been in and out of jail!
I do not trust this person as far as I can throw him and now he's attempting to do what he has always done! Not take responsibility for his actions! Only this time I'm nervous it's going to affect MY family!

I knew it would be a waste of time posting on a forum, it was a sleepless night as it was. Then to wake to reading someone thinking I have an agenda....

I'll be talking to my lawyer today to find out if this creep has case and if I need to worry about the adoption or anything for that matter.

Thank you but no thank you. I will take the advice of my lawyer, I just needed to post something somewhere to get it off my chest so I could get some sleep. Can't wait to put in 12hrs today on three hours of sleep...

 

[Proserpina]

He is paying child support because he was ordered to in 2002 when he and my wife got divorced.
It wasn't until 2006 when I adopted the girls did he have to stop paying.
He owes my wife (4)four years of back child support for two children!
He has made payments for the past three months!
Now he want's to stop making payments for the one girl, thus cutting what he owes in half and possibly jeapordizing my adoption of the one girl.

What is my goal here? Are you kidding? I do not have a "goal"!
I'm flipping out because for the past six years we hear not a peep from this dead beat and now all of a sudden he thrust back into our lives.
I am scared he's going to tear apart our family!
I'm scared he's going to show up at my front door!
I am scared...
He is a drug addict and a criminal!
He's been in and out of jail!
I do not trust this person as far as I can throw him and now he's attempting to do what he has always done! Not take responsibility for his actions! Only this time I'm nervous it's going to affect MY family!

I knew it would be a waste of time posting on a forum, it was a sleepless night as it was. Then to wake to reading someone thinking I have an agenda....

I'll be talking to my lawyer today to find out if this creep has case and if I need to worry about the adoption or anything for that matter.

Thank you but no thank you. I will take the advice of my lawyer, I just needed to post something somewhere to get it off my chest so I could get some sleep. Can't wait to put in 12hrs today on three hours of sleep...

Find a different forum. This is NOT a "omfgimpanickingandidontknowwhattodoandomgimnotrationalandicantcontrolmyself" forum.

 

[thefishguy]

I asked two simple questions in my original post. Neither got answered. Are you kidding with this?

"omfgimpanickingandidontknowwhattodoandomgimnotrationalandicantcontrolmyself"

Yes, I did panick last nite and will always panick when it comes to the safety and well being of my family. Do you have children? You are a senior member? Your post looks as if it was made by a senior in high school.

It's simple really, if you don't have anything relevant to the thread then please do not post in it. This is nonsense.

 

[mistoffolees]

I asked two simple questions in my original post. Neither got answered. Are you kidding with this?

"omfgimpanickingandidontknowwhattodoandomgimnotrationalandicantcontrolmyself"

Yes, I did panick last nite and will always panick when it comes to the safety and well being of my family. Do you have children? You are a senior member? Your post looks as if it was made by a senior in high school.

It's simple really, if you don't have anything relevant to the thread then please do not post in it. This is nonsense.

No, the nonsense is coming from you.

Pro's response was correct. This is a legal forum. We're not interested in all the drama and we're not here for you to get things off your chest. We're all volunteers who are here to help people who have legal questions.

Now, to your problem:
- First, there's nowhere near enough information in your post to answer your questions. What have they done legally? And who is filing? The only one who potentially has a case is the biological father. The guy who signed away his rights doesn't have much of a case in any circumstances. If he manages to prove that he's not the father, it doesn't help him to reverse an adoption - it would simply prove that he had no rights in the first place. (Of course, that's an oversimplification. Since he was paying child support, there is a legal ruling that he is the legal father, so he can't simply say "I wasn't the Dad" now).

Besides, even if he DOES manage to overturn the adoption, he's still the legal father and DNA evidence is not going to get him off the hook, so all he would accomplish is creating more child support bills for himself.

The biological father MIGHT have a case if he was never notified of the pregnancy, etc, etc, etc. However, it would be a very difficult case for him to win. Not impossible, but very difficult. The fact that ex was ordered to pay child support means that he was legally found to be the father. In order for the biological father to win, he'd have to jump through a LOT of hoops. In addition, there's a time limit in some states.

They obviously think they have a case. The problem is that parental rights are given a great deal of weight in this country. If you were the father of a child, you wouldn't want that child taken away without being informed of the matter and having a chance to be involved. The biological father may be in the same boat.

- Child support is a non-issue. Even if ex manages to somehow reverse the adoption, he still owes your wife the back child support. That doesn't go away unless she voluntarily waives it (and, even then, it won't go away if some of it were owed to the state).

- The fact that he has been in jail and that you consider him to be a drug addict is also irrelevant. If he were somehow able to reverse the adoption, he would be entitled to visitation and/or custody unless you could prove to a court that he was a danger to the child. That's much harder to do than you think.

In the end, he can make all sorts of noise, but it's unlikely that he can make any kind of a case that will do anything. And until they do something, it's not worth losing sleep over. They SAY they got an attorney and want a paternity test. They can say anything they want. Until they actually file something with the court, you are free to ignore it.

I understand the importance of the issues, but going off the deep end and yelling at the volunteers who are here to help you isn't going to accomplish anything. Meanwhile, if he does show up at your front door and wants to take the child, call the police. He has no legal right to enter your home for any reason. If there's a legitimate reason to fear that he will harm you or anyone else in the household, then it may be possible to get a restraining order. But it really sounds like he's blowing smoke.

 

[Ohiogal]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Ohio

In 2006 I adopted my wifes two daughters. Originally their biological father contested the adoption but then did not show up for the second hearing. He was a dead beat dad and the adoption would have gone through no matter what. This coming from the judge. Fast foreward to this evening where my wife gets a corespondence from her ex-husbands wife saying that the adoption of one of the daughters was illegal because he is not the biological father. He has a made a few months worth of child support payments but now does not want to make payments on the one daughter, only the one he knows is his. They say they have gotten a lawyer and they want a paternaty test done to prove he was not the father of the other girl. Catch is he knows he's not the biological father as my wife was preganant with her when they met. When she was born he signed the birth certificate saying he was her father. He had the opportunity to say he was not her biological father when he and my wife got divorced, he also had the opportunity when I adopted the girls. We had told our lawyer that his name was on her birth certificate but was not her biological father. Our lawyer said it did not matter. My questions are:

1. Do they have a case?
2. Can my odoption of the one girl be overturned?

Thank you for your time.

You have a few things incorrect:
The BIOLOGICAL father did NOT contest the adoption -- the LEGAL father did. Your wife committed fraud by having someone that she KNEW was not the father sign the AOP. As did the legal father.

It is possible that the BIOLOGICAL father could cause issues with the adoption of one of the children. Why? Because he was NEVER notified and I would bet that there was NOT a JOHN DOE service perfected. He can show up and attempt to establish paternity before the child turns 18.

Your wife should have LEGALLY DONE EVERYTHING properly. That does not appear to have happened. Unless JOHN DOE'S rights to the child were also terminated, it is possible that he would have an ability to contest the adoption under a 60(B) motion.

The likelihood of that happening? Don't know. Does the former LEGAL father KNOW who the BIOLOGICAL father is? If so, could he convince the BIOLOGICAL father to attack the adoption?

Your wife should not have committed fraud so many years ago.

 

[mistoffolees]

You have a few things incorrect:
The BIOLOGICAL father did NOT contest the adoption -- the LEGAL father did. Your wife committed fraud by having someone that she KNEW was not the father sign the AOP. As did the legal father.

It is possible that the BIOLOGICAL father could cause issues with the adoption of one of the children. Why? Because he was NEVER notified and I would bet that there was NOT a JOHN DOE service perfected. He can show up and attempt to establish paternity before the child turns 18.

Your wife should have LEGALLY DONE EVERYTHING properly. That does not appear to have happened. Unless JOHN DOE'S rights to the child were also terminated, it is possible that he would have an ability to contest the adoption under a 60(B) motion.

The likelihood of that happening? Don't know. Does the former LEGAL father KNOW who the BIOLOGICAL father is? If so, could he convince the BIOLOGICAL father to attack the adoption?

Your wife should not have committed fraud so many years ago.

While I agree with you and gave much of the same advice, I wanted to point out that it's not clear that Mom committed fraud years ago. We know that Mom and former (legal) Dad knew that he was not the biological father at the time that he signed the birth certificate. We don't know if the biological father was properly notified or not. And since former (legal) Dad was on the birth certificate and therefore the legal father, it's not clear that she committed fraud when getting a divorce.

I agree that it's entirely possible, but it's not clear that she did commit fraud.

 

[Ohiogal]

While I agree with you and gave much of the same advice, I wanted to point out that it's not clear that Mom committed fraud years ago. We know that Mom and former (legal) Dad knew that he was not the biological father at the time that he signed the birth certificate. We don't know if the biological father was properly notified or not. And since former (legal) Dad was on the birth certificate and therefore the legal father, it's not clear that she committed fraud when getting a divorce.

I agree that it's entirely possible, but it's not clear that she did commit fraud.

IF she knew that legal dad was NOT the biological father at the time he SIGNED THE AOP then YES, she committed fraud by signing the AOP. By signing the AOP -- and in OHIO BOTH MUST SIGN THE AOP -- it requires that the people signing it attest that the man is the biological father of the child.

Mom committed fraud then. End of story. It can come back to bite her.

 

[mistoffolees]

IF she knew that legal dad was NOT the biological father at the time he SIGNED THE AOP then YES, she committed fraud by signing the AOP. By signing the AOP -- and in OHIO BOTH MUST SIGN THE AOP -- it requires that the people signing it attest that the man is the biological father of the child.

Mom committed fraud then. End of story. It can come back to bite her.

That makes sense. I was thinking of when they filed for divorce.

 

[Ohiogal]

That makes sense. I was thinking of when they filed for divorce.

Well that was just a continuation of the prior fraud. However at that point SHE did not have a right to contest paternity and neither did the man she was divorcing. The only person who could have contested -- and still can contest -- is the biological father -- or the person who THINKS he is the biological father.

That can cause issues with the adoption if a John Doe posting was not done OR IF mom did NOT name every possible biological father and serve them.

 

[LdiJ]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Ohio

In 2006 I adopted my wifes two daughters. Originally their biological father contested the adoption but then did not show up for the second hearing. He was a dead beat dad and the adoption would have gone through no matter what. This coming from the judge. Fast foreward to this evening where my wife gets a corespondence from her ex-husbands wife saying that the adoption of one of the daughters was illegal because he is not the biological father. He has a made a few months worth of child support payments but now does not want to make payments on the one daughter, only the one he knows is his. They say they have gotten a lawyer and they want a paternaty test done to prove he was not the father of the other girl. Catch is he knows he's not the biological father as my wife was preganant with her when they met. When she was born he signed the birth certificate saying he was her father. He had the opportunity to say he was not her biological father when he and my wife got divorced, he also had the opportunity when I adopted the girls. We had told our lawyer that his name was on her birth certificate but was not her biological father. Our lawyer said it did not matter. My questions are:

1. Do they have a case?
2. Can my odoption of the one girl be overturned?

Thank you for your time.

I think that you need a consult with a local adoption attorney. Personally, I think that the former legal father is blowing smoke, because I don't think that he has the standing to even ask for an DNA test at this point in time....his parental rights were terminated so that you could adopt, over 5 years ago.

 

[Ohiogal]

I think that you need a consult with a local adoption attorney. Personally, I think that the former legal father is blowing smoke, because I don't think that he has the standing to even ask for an DNA test at this point in time....his parental rights were terminated so that you could adopt, over 5 years ago.

The former legal father cannot do anything. THE BIOLOGICAL father however would have standing unless HIS rights were terminated. Especially since if they were not terminated he can attempt to establish paternity. Wife screwed up when she committed fraud so many years ago.

By the way, do the children know about the lies told to them regarding who their daddy is or was?

Oh and if the former adoption attorney KNEW that he was not the actual biological father then the attorney had a duty to inform the probate court AND make sure a proper posting was done. Or that attorney committed malpractice.

 

[LdiJ]

The former legal father cannot do anything. THE BIOLOGICAL father however would have standing unless HIS rights were terminated. Especially since if they were not terminated he can attempt to establish paternity. Wife screwed up when she committed fraud so many years ago.

By the way, do the children know about the lies told to them regarding who their daddy is or was?

Oh and if the former adoption attorney KNEW that he was not the actual biological father then the attorney had a duty to inform the probate court AND make sure a proper posting was done. Or that attorney committed malpractice.

Maybe the attorney did, and a john doe posting was done.