A mother-of-four is suing a well-to- do Upper East Side New York couple claiming they stole her baby after she decided against putting the infant up for adoption.
Vilma Ramirez, 35, from Brentwood, Long Island, had initially agreed to let Andrew and Kelley Grant adopt Esperanza, but she says she changed her mind during a 45 day grace period.
In court documents filed March 7, she says upon learning of her about-turn Andrew, 45, a software designer from New York’s Upper East Side, snatched the baby from her babysitter on January 9.
The lawsuit claims he swooped ‘while I was at work and convinced the Mirarchis, who were taking care of Esperanza, that he needed to take the child now.’
The mother, who is a chef originally from El Salvador, adds that if she had known she would never be able to see the child again, she would not have agreed to the adoption.
‘I really did not understand the legal language, and no one explained them to me at the time.’
Ramirez gave birth to her fourth child, Esperanza, - now known as Isabella – on February 15 2010.
She was persuaded by close friend Blanca Mirarchi, 56, to give the little girl up for adoption.
Mirarchi found the Grants, introduced them to Ramirez and to Long Island adoption lawyer Steven Sarisohn.
Negotiations begun and the Grants, who live in a $950,000 apartment in Manhattan started decorating a room for the girl.
On December 23 last year Ramirez signed away her guardianship of Esperanza, but claims she thought it was an open adoption which allows her to continue to contact the child.
The ‘extrajudicial’ legal deal meant consent for the adoption could be given without a judge, with a 45-day grace period.
If invoked by the biological parents, a judge decides the outcome of the child’s future.
An attorney for the Grants called Ramirez's allegations ‘off the wall’, according to the New York Post.
Lawyer Bonnie Rabin added: ‘The birth mother placed the child in the care of others from the beginning of her life.’ – a claim Ramirez refutes.
The court documents also criticise Ramirez’s original lawyer, Steven Sarisohn.
It says: ‘His actions were more those of a lawyer attempting to facilitate the adoption rather than provide counsel to the birth mother about her rights’ – allegations the lawyer denies.
Last week a Supreme Court judge passed the case to the Manhattan Surrogate Court.
HABLA LEGALESE? Kelley Grant (far left), with the "adopted" daughter she calls Isabella, and husband Andrew are accused of deceptive legal tactics in adopting the child of El Salvadoran-immigrant birth mom Vilma Ramirez (inset).
"If I had been advised . . . that the Grants could decide that I would never see Esperanza again, I would never have signed any consent or other documents," Ramirez alleges in a lawsuit filed March 7.
"I really did not understand the legal language, and no one explained them to me at the time," says Ramirez.
Ramirez, a 35-year-old cook from El Salvador with little command of English who lives in Brentwood, LI, was pregnant with Esperanza, her fourth child, when a trusted friend, Blanca Mirarchi, convinced her adoption was her best option. At the same time, the Grants badly wanted a child.
The 45-year-old software designer and his ad-exec wife, 37, had a solid marriage, enjoyed living in their $950,000 East 83rd Street co-op, and could afford the $30,000 or more in costs that a domestic adoption can incur.
1 comment:
How can anyone help this mother? Any ideas? She will not have a change against this couple.
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