Legal Question in Family Law in Mississippi
Father In Jail Won't Sign Adoption Papers
My husband and i are wanting to adopt our grandchildren.My daughter has signed the papers for us to adopt them,myself and my husband have also signed them.My daughter divorced her husband years ago when he was put in prison for murder we were told cause he is the father of the children he also needs to sign the papers.He will not get out of prison till 2018. The children have lived with us for years and they want us to adopt them.My question is:What can we do if the father wont sign the papers?He seems to have more rights being in prison than we do. My daughter has moved out of the house and the children stay with my husband and me.They know they are with someone they can trust and will take care of them. Do the children have any rights or say so in this matter? Any help in this matter will be appreciated. thank-you
1 Answer from Attorneys
Re: Father In Jail Won't Sign Adoption Papers
You can seek to terminate the father's rights while he is in jail and adopt them at the same time. The father can be given due notice by service of process on the Warden. The court can terminate the father's parental rights and the children's rights regarding their father if the court thinks it is in their best interest, and this sufficient evidence that he has abandoned, abused, or neglected them. However, there is a case they used to teach about in law school which may have some precedent for your situation. In another state, a supreme court held that imprisonment for murder alone would not justify termination of parental rights. I don't know if Miss. has reached a similar conclusion.
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