Fathers everywhere may have a tough time connecting with their children — for any number of reasons. When a couple separates, fathers can lose track of their children and sometimes have their parental rights terminated — even if they are insistent about establishing their paternity rights.
This is the situation a man found himself in when his daughter was adopted by a couple in a faraway state that he did not know. The man says that his parental rights were improperly cut off when he was incarcerated. The girl’s mother had already given up her rights, so when the man went to prison, the prospective adoptive parents claimed that the girl was essentially abandoned.
The man won an appeal five years ago in the case; the ruling said that his due process rights were violated when the girl was adopted. She was recently returned to his custody after being adopted by the other couple six years ago. Now, at age 9, she is going to be living with her biological father for the first time since she was an infant.
This case is far from over; the adoptive parents have created an online petition to have the girl returned to their care, and they say they are continuing to seek ways to return the girl.
However it ends up, the case serves as a reminder of the power of paternity. In the absence of other mitigating factors, children are usually placed with their biological parents if that is an option. Fathers’ rights attorneys can help dads to fight for their rights.
Source: The Dickson Herald, “Dickson couple loses custody of girl after apparent adoption overturned,” Colleen Creamer,
