No. 10CA0210. In re the Petition of S.D., and Concerning R.M.S. Colorado Court of Appeals -- September 30, 2010
Petitioner S.D. appealed the district court’s orders refusing to rescind her adoption by respondents. The orders were affirmed.
Respondents adopted petitioner in 1974, when petitioner was 10 months old. In October 2008, petitioner filed a motion seeking to rescind her adoption and to obtain a copy of her original birth certificate. She alleged abuse by her adoptive family and contended that in 2003, her adoptive mother confessed that the adoption was illegal because petitioner’s birth father had never relinquished his rights. Her motion was denied in November 2008. She filed similar motions in November and December 2009, which also were denied.
On appeal, petitioner requested that the court simply rescind the adoption and rule that the adoption was void because her birth father never relinquished his parental rights. The Court of Appeals held there was no right to rescind the adoption nor was it void under Colorado law. To rescind her adoption, there must be a finding that the adoption was void. The trial court did extensive research but failed to find any authority enabling it to grant petitioner’s motion.
The Court also agreed with the district court’s conclusion that the statute of limitations bars petitioner from attacking an adoption decree entered more than thirty years ago. The applicable statute of limitations at the time petitioner was adopted was two years.
5 comments:
So according to the court, she should have petitioned to have her adoption rescinded when she was a 2 year old child?
YUP! But adoptive parents can terminate - or "disrupt" - an adoption at any time they please!
Colorado laws are some of the worst on all fronts. Even adult adoption would be no solution for this woman. Colorado law limits a full adult adoption to people of ages 18 to 20 ("Colorado Revised Statutes, Title 19 Children's Code, ARTICLE 5 RELINQUISHMENT AND ADOPTION. PART 2 ADOPTION, 19-5-201. Who may be adopted."). Any adult adoption after this point ONLY transfers inheritance rights, NOT filiation or parental rights ("Colorado Revised Statutes, Title 14: Domestic Matters, ADOPTION - ADULTS, Article 1. Adoption of Adults, 14-1-101"), so it is basically worthless to anyone wanting to use it to annul their previous adoption. More here
Thanks Cedar.
I don't think an adoption can be rescinded unless fraud is proven. A friend of mine was the lawyer for a groundbreaking case in Florida where a man was able to rescind his adoption decades after the fact by proving fraud and severe abuse.
An adoptive parent cannot unadopt and adult adoptee, so I'm not sure how an adult adoptee can unadopt themselves outside of somehow getting adopted by another adult or prove fraud.
We had a student who was a male prostitute in the baths in San Francisco in the 1980s. He was not adopted as far as I know, but when he ws i his 20s his boyfriend/sugar daddy, who was quite a bit older than he was, adopted him.
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