Legal Question in Family Law in Massachusetts
child support
my ex-wife said she wanted to keep her sisters son from dss custody asked me to help until her sister got back on her feet well after the adoption she nolonger let her sister in and told the son she is his mother and im his father i didnot agree so i divorced her 200 week support til kid is 23 cant locate adoption records want to relinquish adoption can i im 54 yrs old years old i was tricked
1 Answer from Attorneys
Re: child support
If you agreed to the adoption, signed the papers, went to a hearing to affirm your agreement, and adopted the child, you are the child's legal father.
It is hypothetically possible to void an adoption, but very, very difficult. Without knowing in detail all of the facts through a confidential consultation, I would not say, "You will not succeed," but I -can- warn you that you face a very steep uphill battle. You are likely to have to show that you were mentally incompetent or otherwise incompetent as a matter of law (e.g., a minor) to prove sufficient trickery and fraud in a DSS-sponsored adoption -- and that DSS somehow missed that fact in its review of you and your wife as a couple.
You undertook a legal and moral obligation to this boy. The Courts are not going to make it easy for you to renege on that obligation. You need a detailed, in-office consultation with a well-versed attorney before you go forward in this.