Reversing an adoption, and changing custody rights

[Hailzgurrl101]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)?
i live in the state of indiana. i am currently 15 years old. my stepfather adopted me about two years ago, but paternity had never been established. My biological father had been incarserated for quite some time. He had gotten released the day before court and he was told that he didnt need a lawyer, he just had to show up. so when he got there, he realized there was nothing he could do. My stepfather and my mother told me that i had no choice in the adoption. they had told me that if i did not tell the judge that i wanted the adoption, then i would be in some major trouble. recently, my stepfather had left us for another woman and was under the influence of some hardcore drugs. This is one of the many reasons i no longer want to keep his name. i had went and stayed with my biological father for a period of time when all of these things were going on. he lives in the state of Alabama. I couldnt get into school because my father did not have custody of me or any rights to me. i was out of school for about three months. unfortunately, after all of the horrible things my stepfather did, my mother decided to let him come home. He made me come back to indiana. My mother is now trying to tell me i can never go back and see my father, when we had made plans for me to go and stay there for the summer. is there anything that i can possibly do to be able to get my name switched back, and to get visitation for my biological father? Honestly, i would rather stay with my biological father. At my mothers house, it is not the right environment for me. We are always fighting and screaming and yelling, and i am so unhappy. I loved being with my father. I have learned so much from him. He has a new family and his life is well on track. If i could prove and present this to the courts, is there any way that i could be able to reverse this adoption and choose to live with my father?What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)?

 

[Antigone*]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)?
i live in the state of indiana. i am currently 15 years old. my stepfather adopted me about two years ago, but paternity had never been established. My biological father had been incarserated for quite some time. He had gotten released the day before court and he was told that he didnt need a lawyer, he just had to show up. so when he got there, he realized there was nothing he could do. My stepfather and my mother told me that i had no choice in the adoption. they had told me that if i did not tell the judge that i wanted the adoption, then i would be in some major trouble. recently, my stepfather had left us for another woman and was under the influence of some hardcore drugs. This is one of the many reasons i no longer want to keep his name. i had went and stayed with my biological father for a period of time when all of these things were going on. he lives in the state of Alabama. I couldnt get into school because my father did not have custody of me or any rights to me. i was out of school for about three months. unfortunately, after all of the horrible things my stepfather did, my mother decided to let him come home. He made me come back to indiana. My mother is now trying to tell me i can never go back and see my father, when we had made plans for me to go and stay there for the summer. is there anything that i can possibly do to be able to get my name switched back, and to get visitation for my biological father? Honestly, i would rather stay with my biological father. At my mothers house, it is not the right environment for me. We are always fighting and screaming and yelling, and i am so unhappy. I loved being with my father. I have learned so much from him. He has a new family and his life is well on track. If i could prove and present this to the courts, is there any way that i could be able to reverse this adoption and choose to live with my father?What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)?

When you are an adult you can do whatever you want. For now you have to listen to your mom and dad (prior stepfather).

 

[Zigner]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)?
i live in the state of indiana. i am currently 15 years old. my stepfather adopted me about two years ago, but paternity had never been established. My biological father had been incarserated for quite some time. He had gotten released the day before court and he was told that he didnt need a lawyer, he just had to show up. so when he got there, he realized there was nothing he could do. My stepfather and my mother told me that i had no choice in the adoption. they had told me that if i did not tell the judge that i wanted the adoption, then i would be in some major trouble. recently, my stepfather had left us for another woman and was under the influence of some hardcore drugs. This is one of the many reasons i no longer want to keep his name. i had went and stayed with my biological father for a period of time when all of these things were going on. he lives in the state of Alabama. I couldnt get into school because my father did not have custody of me or any rights to me. i was out of school for about three months. unfortunately, after all of the horrible things my stepfather did, my mother decided to let him come home. He made me come back to indiana. My mother is now trying to tell me i can never go back and see my father, when we had made plans for me to go and stay there for the summer. is there anything that i can possibly do to be able to get my name switched back, and to get visitation for my biological father? Honestly, i would rather stay with my biological father. At my mothers house, it is not the right environment for me. We are always fighting and screaming and yelling, and i am so unhappy. I loved being with my father. I have learned so much from him. He has a new family and his life is well on track. If i could prove and present this to the courts, is there any way that i could be able to reverse this adoption and choose to live with my father?What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)?

I'm sorry, but no. Your LEGAL father is the man your mother is married to. At the time, your biological father agreed to the adoption. There really is no "do-over." I would suggest that you do your best with the situation you are in until you are of legal age and then you can choose with whom you wish to live.

 

[TheGeekess]

Talk to an adult you trust...even a counselor at school. Check out the law for your state but in NY ....

What happens in NY has no bearing on what happens in OP's state.

The man in Alabama has no legal rights to the OP. Her Dad is with her Mom in IN.

Now stop posting, because you don't have a clue and I've already broken one clue-by-four here today.

 

[justalayman]

Talk to an adult you trust...even a counselor at school. Check out the law for your state but in NY at the age of 16 you can leave home and cannot be made to return unless you are under the care of the state for some reason either through child protective services or probation which you do not mention. If your parents are providing basic needs; clothing, a roof over your head, food, medical care and schooling then there is nothing that points to neglect. This sounds like a basic want not need for you. I'm not saying I don't understand your desire to know and be involved with your bio dad and I think having contact with him should be your choice. You may want to be sure that there is nothing legally barring you contact with him though. You do not mention what he was incarcerated for and for how long. That may change things. I wish you the best of luck. Please keep in mind you are 15 and your mother and (adoptive) father have provided and cared for you. Your mother will be your mother forever, family is important and I think you should also considering counseling either for just you or to include minimum your mom but your dads as well.

Yes, there is something legally barring the OP from having contact with the man that lives in Alabama. It's called parental authority and if the guy in Alabama attempts to usurp that parental authority and the OP ends up there, guy in Alabama may find himself doing some more time in prison.


btw: you need to check on that leaving home at 16 in New York.

 

[Silverplum]

What happens in NY has no bearing on what happens in OP's state.

The man in Alabama has no legal rights to the OP. Her Dad is with her Mom in IN.

 

[Antigone*]

Talk to an adult you trust...even a counselor at school. Check out the law for your state but in NY at the age of 16 you can leave home and cannot be made to return unless you are under the care of the state for some reason either through child protective services or probation which you do not mention. If your parents are providing basic needs; clothing, a roof over your head, food, medical care and schooling then there is nothing that points to neglect. This sounds like a basic want not need for you. I'm not saying I don't understand your desire to know and be involved with your bio dad and I think having contact with him should be your choice. You may want to be sure that there is nothing legally barring you contact with him though. You do not mention what he was incarcerated for and for how long. That may change things. I wish you the best of luck. Please keep in mind you are 15 and your mother and (adoptive) father have provided and cared for you. Your mother will be your mother forever, family is important and I think you should also considering counseling either for just you or to include minimum your mom but your dads as well.

You are dangerous.

All right folks, who left the gate open

 

[stolicat]

Well, I tried to give you a couple links, but "Blue Meanie" removed my posting cause I actually typed the links... and they were state of Indiana government links too!!! whatever though... gotta follow the rules.

So here you go (no links) look up the office of the Guardian Ad Litem for the state of Indiana. Also you may want to Google "child legal advocates in Indiana" as well as "child advocates Pro Bono in Indiana"...

I had a bunch of other words, but I can't remember it all now... basically though, I was trying to express to you that your mom may have knowledge you're unaware of regarding your biological dad, everything will be OK as long as you're not being abused in any way, and lastly, you're only 3 years away from being able to do whatever you want.

Thanks to the Internet, you can keep up with your biological father until you're old enough to go see him.

I'm going to keep up with this posting so I'll see if you post anything new.

Take Care...

 

[Antigone*]

How do you know it was blue and not ElephantSntNose?

 

[mistoffolees]

So here you go (no links) look up the office of the Guardian Ad Litem for the state of Indiana. Also you may want to Google "child legal advocates in Indiana" as well as "child advocates Pro Bono in Indiana"...

For what? His parents are not doing anything illegal and at his age, he has no right to insist on seeing a legal stranger. All the child legal advocates in Indiana can't change that.

Thanks to the Internet, you can keep up with your biological father until you're old enough to go see him.

Not if Mom and Dad say he can't. You really need to take some time to learn the law before you continue posting inaccurate information.

 

[stolicat]

None of us know all the facts... there may be more and we're talking to a teenager.

My "neutral" position and recommendation was only that the kid has someone in his/her state to speak to regarding the issues that are clearly upsetting them. Even if it's just to reiterate what you all have been saying.

It's just in case there are other factors that a teenager wouldn't put on a public forum. Obviously, the issue is upsetting enough for them to post here and I think I even see another same story/same date on another legal advise site.

If nothing else, a professional needs to explain that there really is nothing he or she can do so that he/she can accept this. I also think it's appropriate for him/her to speak with a professional adult in private in case there's a REAL reason for wanting to leave the current home.

Even children have rights and a right to know what they are and are not... whatever the case may be.

It won't hurt for him/her to call someone... it WILL, however, resolve this issue for them.

 

[stolicat]

How do you know it was blue and not ElephantSntNose?

I have instant E-Mail notifications and it stated who wrote the reply... oh well.

 

[justalayman]

None of us know all the facts... there may be more and we're talking to a teenager.

My "neutral" position and recommendation was only that the kid has someone in his/her state to speak to regarding the issues that are clearly upsetting them. Even if it's just to reiterate what you all have been saying.

It's just in case there are other factors that a teenager wouldn't put on a public forum. Obviously, the issue is upsetting enough for them to post here and I think I even see another same story/same date on another legal advise site.

If nothing else, a professional needs to explain that there really is nothing he or she can do so that he/she can accept this. I also think it's appropriate for him/her to speak with a professional adult in private in case there's a REAL reason for wanting to leave the current home.

Even children have rights and a right to know what they are and are not... whatever the case may be.

It won't hurt for him/her to call someone... it WILL, however, resolve this issue for them.

but you have to realize, regardless of what other things may be happening, the guy in Alabama has no business being involved in the OP's life. If OP has problems, OP needs to speak to a counselor, police, clergy, or whatever but OP does not and should not be speaking with the guy in Alabama. Even if OP was taken away from home, guy in Alabama would not have any chance of custody or any other involvement. He is now a legal stranger and needs to stay out of the OP's life unless OP's parents allow the contact.

 

[stolicat]

but you have to realize, regardless of what other things may be happening, the guy in Alabama has no business being involved in the OP's life. If OP has problems, OP needs to speak to a counselor, police, clergy, or whatever but OP does not and should not be speaking with the guy in Alabama. Even if OP was taken away from home, guy in Alabama would not have any chance of custody or any other involvement. He is now a legal stranger and needs to stay out of the OP's life unless OP's parents allow the contact.

How can you say that when you don't know all the facts? That's my point... this kid needs to speak with an official adult for the area and get the actual facts for his/her situation. No one can presume to know ALL the facts and I am holding back on my personal opinion because my case is NOT the same and their's isn't the same as anyone else's.

I just want to give them the info they need to contact an actual resource for the facts for this child's specific case.

There's lots of factors involved that I am not qualified to answer and that's what this kid needs... "qualified answers" in a private setting.

Teenagers are old enough to be provided answers and not treated like a 5 yr old with no rights.

 

[mistoffolees]

How can you say that when you don't know all the facts?

He can say that because IT'S THE LAW.

The parents can dictate who the child can talk to. The guy in AL has no legal right to talk to the kid or vice versa. Period. No matter what other stuff you want to drag into the story.

Now are you going to actually learn something or are you going to continue to post your completely inaccurate ramblings?