Legal Question in Family Law in California

In May 2001 my wife and I lost the parental rights to our two little girls because of our drug use. We didn't need counseling or therapy to get over our addiction, it was our broken hearts that changed us forever.
C.P.S. took our children and placed them with a foster mother who lived directly across the street from our home. Despite absolutely every observation and report of our bond and love the Sacramento Family Court proceeded with adoption hearings and forced us into giving up our parental rights to the foster mother or risk having our daughters split up and adopted away never to be seen again. The new legal single parent whose name is Sharon cut off all contact with our children immediately and we have ACCIDENTALLY ran into them at public places ever since. The only logical reason for her doing this is to control them but we discovered later that as a foster parent who adopts she receives approximately $1,000.00 a month for our two daughters.
It's been 9 years since this tragedy began, in this time our lives have flourished while Sharons has fallen apart. We have steady incomes and have bought a beautiful 2500 sq. ft. 4 bedroom 3 bath home preparing for our children, Sharon has lost her foster care license, her income, she's on public assistance with food stamps, she lost her home, she's moved 4 times in 4 years, evicted from her last house, the house she's in currently that she bought with her boyfriend already went into forecloser within 8 months of them occupying it and the house is a dump. My love and 20 year bond with my wife is wonderful, Sharons first husband left her, the second one died, the third marraige ended in 6 months because of domestic violence and now she has the boyfriend and they are dirt poor and our children have nothing! But this is where my story gets interesting!
Seperated by a 3 foot walkway from our childrens home is a church that my wife and I have attended since March of last year ( thank you God!). Sharon got our children out of the house for a couple of weeks after we showed up but finally gave up and now she just keeps them locked up inside with the curtains drawn whenever we're there. We always see them looking out the windows at us and it breaks our hearts.
Within a few months I'm going to launch a website for them with family pictures of then and now with contact info and our apology for what we put them through and the legal question I need to ask is this; California law regarding emancipation is 14 years old, our daughters are 11 and 14, do our daughters need the permission from Sharon to get their freedom?
Thank you , waiting for your response.

Asked on 2/28/10, 7:31 am

2 Answers from Attorneys

Cristin Lowe Law Office of Cristin M. Lowe

0 users found helpful

0 attorneys agreed

The answer to your question can be found in Family Code Section 7120, which reads as follows:

A minor may petition the superior court of the county in which the minor resides or is temporarily domiciled for a declaration of emancipation. The petition shall set forth with specificity all of the following facts: (1) The minor is at least 14 years of age; (2) The minor willingly lives separate and apart from the minor's parents or guardian with the consent or acquiescence of the minor's parents or guardian; (3) The minor is managing his or her own financial affairs. As evidence of this, the minor shall complete and attach a declaration

of income and expenses as provided in Judicial Council form FL-150; (4) The source of the minor's income is not derived from any activity declared to be a crime by the laws of this state or the laws of the United States.

The short answer to your question is that your 11-year-old is ineligible to file for emancipation, and your 14-year-old does need her legal mother's consent, along with self-supporting income, which she obviously does not have.

While I don't doubt your love for your daughters, please do keep in mind that they were very, very young when they were last in your care. Assuming the best case scenario that they have any memories whatsoever of you, odds are that they aren't very good memories due to your then-drug problems in combination with information fed to them by Sharon. The truth is that they have no relationship with you, and while they may know that you are their biological parents, what that means to them is essentially nothing.

I understand that you would love for nothing more than to become a family again and parent your daughters. It may even be in their best interests that this happen. But unfortunately, with an adoption, the fact that you are your daughters' biological parents means very, very little. Your rights were permanently terminated.

That being said, I see two potential solutions in your case. One is for you to review the adoption paperwork to see if a "contact after adoption" form was filed. Although you are technically no longer the parents, some adoptions expressly order that the children are to have contact with the children. If that is indeed your case, you can and should pursue visitation in accordance with what was granted by the Court.

Once you have re-established a connection with your girls and it seems appropriate, you could theoretically file for guardianship of them. Your 14-year-old would need to consent, and once your 11-year-old turns 12, she would also need to consent. If there is a mature, responsible adult who has a close relationship with them currently, that person could also file for a guardianship over them.

What you do need to understand and accept (as difficult as I know that is), is that your blood relationship should not be your main argument as to why you should get your daughters back. If you make that the focal point, you will have a very difficult time through this process, and you will likely be very disappointed with the outcome. It's all about the best interests of the girls. And no, using the argument that it's in their best interests to be with their biological parents is not going to cut it. I realize how harsh this sounds, but my intent is not to hurt your feelings or make you angry--I'm trying to get you to set aside your feelings and look at your case from a legal perspective.

You absolutely need a strong, creative attorney to assist you through this difficult task. I wish you the best of luck.

Answered on 3/05/10, 10:51 am

Mark as helpful