ADOPTIVE PARENTS CAN'T SUMMARILY DENY SIBLINGS' VISITATION RIGHTS, COURT SAYS
Adoptive parents cannot ignore blood bonds between siblings and may be ordered to permit visitation upon proof it would be in the adopted child's best interests, a unanimous NJ state Supreme Court held Wednesday.
The Court ordered a hearing for an adult sister to proffer such evidence, finding the record in In the Matter of D.C. and D.C., (A-71-09), inadequate to determine "this life altering issue."
But the Court cautioned that the best-interests standard "cannot likely be satisfied by siblings who have no connection to each other or by those whose bonds are flaccid, or worse, toxic."
The case concerned twin girls placed in a foster home at three months old, whose adult older sister had her visitation rights revoked.
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