Legal Question in Family Law in Kentucky
I gave my baby up for adoption at birth. She is with a fantastic family who love her more than life and she is doing so great there. It's like I couldn't have possibly found a better home for her - I am so happy with the arrangement.
I decided on adoption because I was raped and abused by a boyfriend. The child is definitely a result of rape. I was scared to leave him because he threatened me and my son. When I finally did, he had nothing else to do with me thru my pregnancy.
I spoke to a therapist and they suggested adoption. I agreed because I didn't want my daughter abused by this man.
Anyhow, now he is contesting the adoption.
No formal charges have ever been filed against him because I was scared.
Can he contest this adoption and get custody even though my entire reasoning for placing my daughter for adoption was to save her from him??
1 Answer from Attorneys
The concern here would be whether his due process rights were violated. If you knew he was the father and never provided his name, or more importantly, if the adoptive parents knew that his identity and location were discoverable, but failed to try and notify him of the adoption, then a risk was created to the adoption. To have a case, he would have to challenge the adoption within one year of when he knew or should have known about the adoption.
However, I would not get too terribly concerned because even if he successfully challenged the adoption itself, that still would not decide the matter of custody. If the baby has been with the adoptive parents and provided for financially by them for more than six months (assuming she whent there as a baby) then the biological father would have to prove that it is best for her to be in his custody and that would be a hard thing to prove based on what you have reported here.