Legal Question in Family Law in Illinois

Re: Stepparent Adoption

There are many factors to consider in this matter, and not all of them are completely spelled out in your question. First, I am going to assume that the father's paternity was established before he brought his action in October 1997. The next thing to determine is whether Illinois properly exercised its jurisdiction over your child. Under the Uniform Child Custody Act (UCCA), which has been adopted by Illinois and Minnesota in nearly identical form, the Illinois court had jurisdiction over your child's custody determination because your child had lived in Illinois within 6 months of the start of the father's proceeding (June 97-Oct 97 is only 4 months). However, it sounds like you were not given proper notice of the proceeding. Normally notice must be given by serving copies of pleadings on the other party. However, if the party bringing an action cannot locate the opposing party, courts will allow the party to "serve" the opposing party by publication. So, if the father did not know where you were when he brought his visitation action, he may have still been able to obtain service of you by publishing a notice in an Illinois newspaper. Every state is slightly different on their requirements for doing this procedurally, so I would need to know more facts to make a proper determination of whether the Illinois decision is valid. For now, I will assume it is valid.

The next step is figuring out what the father wants. I am assuming you have had almost no contact with him since you left Illinois. However, if your husband wants to legally adopt your child, the father normally must consent to this. Sometimes fathers are willing to do this because consenting to adoption will relieve the father of any obligation to pay child support. You should see if the father is willing to do this. I know he did file for visitation rights, but since he has not attempted to exercise them, I am guessing he did this just to get your attention as his ex. If he is not willing to consent, it will be difficult to get the adoption. The father would have to be extremely abusive and a complete detriment to your child before his rights are taken away from him without his consent. Since he has had little contact with the child, you probably do not have much to accuse him of concerning your child. Again, I do not know all the facts.

Whether the father is willing to consent or not, you will need to make a motion before Illinois courts (and you can do this by mail without going to Illinois physically) to have the jurisdiction transferred to Minnesota. There are several reasons for doing this under the UCCA, and I think Illinois would agree to transfer its jurisdiction in your case. Then you can bring the adoption action here in Minnesota.

I hope this helps. Your situation is a bit complicated, and if you need any further assistance, I would be happy to provide you with further consultation. You can reach me at my home-based office at 651-489-3491.