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Wednesday, February 10, 2010

Ind. Law - Indiana adoption laws subject of bill

From the South Bend Tribune, a story by Kevin Allen:

State Sen. Joe Zakas is seeking to improve Indiana's adoption laws with legislation in the General Assembly.

The Granger Republican's bill would bar people from adopting if they have been convicted of certain "attempted" felonies and clarify the state's rules for when and where a man can file a paternity action to contest an adoption.

Senate Bill 140 passed the Senate by a vote of 49-1 last week, and Zakas said it is scheduled for a hearing next Tuesday in the House of Representatives Judiciary Committee.

Zakas said Indiana has "developed a very solid set of adoption laws over the years," but clarifying those laws will help the families and children involved in the process.

"The whole aim is to provide certainty in the adoption process, which ultimately is in the best interest of the child involved," he said.

Indiana already prohibits people convicted of serious violent felonies from adopting children. SB 140 would also bar people convicted of attempting those felonies.

State law also allows a man to challenge an adoption if he is the child's father. SB 140 would provide a clearer, narrower path for men to file those paternity actions.

Zakas said the Indiana Supreme Court last year interpreted current state law to say a man could file a paternity action in a different court than the one handling the adoption proceeding.

"In the court decision, a judge (Justice Theodore Boehm) basically asked the legislature to clarify this issue, and to have all adoption proceedings confined to a single court, which seems like common sense," Zakas said.

SB 140 would also bar men from filing paternity actions as a "next friend" of the child, as if on behalf of the child. State law requires paternity actions to be filed within 30 days of receiving notice of a proceeding, but "next friend" cases can be filed for up to 20 years, which is "huge loophole," Zakas said.

"Adoption should be encouraged, but the process can be challenging," he said. "More certainty should help, so that children benefit the most."

The Supreme Court decision referenced in the story is Adoption of T.B.; W.G. v. D.B. & J.B., from June 26, 2009, where Justice Boehm, in a concurring opinion, writes:
I write separately to observe that these statutes, taken together, seem to provide multiple opportunities for confusion or even intentional obfuscation. * * *

I hope the General Assembly will consider requiring that a putative father wishing to con-test an adoption or declare paternity must file in the court in which an adoption action is pending or otherwise assure consolidation of these two proceedings to reduce the opportunity for delay and confusion, while still preserving all rights of the putative father.

See the ILB summary here.

Posted by Marcia Oddi on February 10, 2010 08:29 AM
Posted to Indiana Law