Articles Posted in Children

In New Jersey when a child is given up for adoption, the rights of the biological parents are terminated at the end of the adoption process. What happens, however, to the rights of the child’s biological grandparents?

Prior to the 1970’s, grandparents had no legal visitation rights. Then divorce rates began to rise and so did the number of single-parent homes. Grandparents began to take a more active role in raising their grandchildren and states began to adopt laws granting grandparental visitation rights. (1)

Today New Jersey law gives grandparents the right to seek visitation with their grandchildren if they are at any time denied such visits by the children’s parents. The grandparents must prove visitation is in the child’s best interest and the court will consider a series of factors when granting this request, including the relationship between the child and the grandparent(s), the relationship between the child’s parents and the grandparents, and the effect the visitation may have on those relationships. (2)

The long-running battle that has pitted the rights of adoptees to have access to their birth records against birth parents’ rights to privacy may soon come to an end in New Jersey. A bill ending that battle was approved by the New Jersey State Legislature earlier this month and now awaits signing by Gov. Chris Christie. (1)

The pending legislation would give adoptees in the State the right to access their birth certificates once they turn 18. Parents who have given children up for adoption prior to the law taking effect would have one year from the date the law is adopted to request their names be stricken from the birth records. Once the law is passed — if it is — those giving a child up for adoption could submit in writing their desire not to be contacted. (2) Those parents could have their names stricken from birth records as long as they disclose details of their medical and cultural backgrounds. (3)

Currently in New Jersey access to birth certificates in “closed” adoptions is available only by court order. The adoptee must show good cause to the courts in order for their birth certificates to be unsealed. What constitutes “good cause” is up to the discretion of the judge involved with the particular case. (4)

Imagine availing yourself of all the advancements in reproductive technology in order to conceive the child you thought you may never have just to have the courts say you haven’t earned the title of “Mom.” That is exactly what has happened to a Union County couple now fighting to update State law.

The couple conceived a child through in vitro fertilization, a process whereby the egg is fertilized outside the womb and then implanted into the mother. In this case the egg came from a donor and a surrogate carried the baby to term. As a result, the intended mother has no genetic or biological relationship to the child. (1)

Before the child’s birth 19 months ago, a Superior Court judge issued a pre-birth order permitting the wife’s name to be listed on the birth certificate as the child’s mother. The Bureau of Vital Statistics challenged this ruling and an Appeals Court sided with the Bureau, ruling that the woman would have to adopt the child in order to be recognized as his mother by State courts. (2)

Divorce not only separates the nuclear family – father, mother, child – but it can have ramifications for the extended family as well. The grandparent/grandchild relationship is one that can often suffer from the dissolution of a marriage.

Since the 1970s, a number of states have passed laws recognizing grandparents’ rights in maintaining relationships with their grandchildren. The Grandparents’ Visitation Statute of New Jersey grants grandparents the right to seek visitation with their grandchildren in the State. (1)

In reviewing the grandparents’ application for visitation, courts take several things into consideration, including the grandparents’ relationship with that grandchild as well as with their relationship with their own child. Indications of abuse of any kind – emotional, sexual, physical – or indications of neglect will be weighed heavily by the courts when ruling on the visitation application.(2) Just how heavily such actions are weighed was evident in a recent Monmouth County case.

A New Jersey statute designed to protect the rights of non-custodial parents and their children and maintain their relationship may have unfairly affected the rights of custodial parents, but case law is changing to address this inequity.

This situation came to light recently in the case of Morgan v. Morgan, a New Jersey couple who divorced in 2005. As part of their divorce settlement, the couple was granted joint legal custody of their two daughters, with the mother being the residential parent and the father having custody every other weekend, and one evening, and one overnight per week. He was also granted two weeks vacation time with the girls each year. (1)

When circumstances in the mother’s life changed and she contemplated relocating with her daughters to her home state of Massachusetts, the father filed a motion to re-determine custody. The mother filed a cross-motion requesting permission to relocate. These motions were filed in November 2005, at which time the trial judge denied the custody motion. A hearing on the relocation issue was held in 2007. This, too, was denied by the judge, who stated the mother’s reasons for relocating were not “valid” and the father’s relationship with his daughters could not be sustained under a new visitation schedule. (1)

When actress Halle Berry and Gabriel Aubry called it quits last April, reports claimed the split was amicable. The couple was even seen enjoying outings together with their young daughter. Now, however, the two are involved in a bitter custody battle. With each flinging accusations aimed at proving the other unfit, these celebrities prove just how contentious the legal battle can become when custody is involved. (1)

There may have been a time when custody was almost always granted to the mother unless she was proven to be emotionally, physically, or mentally unfit. But that was a time of traditional roles, when mothers were the primary caregivers and fathers the primary breadwinners. Today’s familial roles are not so clearly defined. Courts can no longer depend on traditional definitions of “mother” and “father” when deciding custody matters. So what do the courts look for?

New Jersey recognizes the custodial rights of both parents, but also considers the child’s best interest. Courts must determine if both parents can, and are willing to, meet the basic needs of their children, which vary with age. Some issues the courts consider include any domestic violence history; the parents’ fitness; their work responsibilities; their ability to cooperate and communicate regarding their children; and their willingness to allow each other to fulfill their parental responsibilities. (2)

Some 220 children from New Jersey’s foster program found their “forever” homes this week when their adoptions were finalized in court procedures throughout the State. (1)

November is recognized as National Adoption Month. In celebration of this, counties throughout the State held a series of activities sponsored in a cooperative effort by the Department of Children and Families (DCF) and the court system. These activities culminated in the finalization of adoptions held during the week of November 15 with the largest number of adoptions taking place in Essex County where the adoption of 60 foster children were finalized. In the Hunterdon/Somerset/Warren County area, six foster children were legally adopted as part of these proceedings. Private adoptions throughout the State were also honored during this observation. (1)

The adoptions in New Jersey included the placement or reunion of siblings within the same adoptive family, special needs placements, teenage adoptions and adoptions by relatives or next of kin, as well as infant adoptions resulting from the State’s Safe Haven Program. Under the Safe Haven Infant Protection Act, individuals are able to anonymously and legally surrender unwanted infants under 30 days old at any police station or hospital emergency room throughout the state. (1)

Hanover Direct Inc., a Weehawken, NJ company, has agreed to recall approximately 495,000 roman shades and 28,500 blinds following reports of the accidental death of a 22-month-old toddler from Cedar Falls, IO. Meanwhile, the blind industry is working to develop better standards for manufacturing safer window coverings in an effort to protect children from similar accidents. (1)

The Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) reported that the young boy was discovered by his father last May trapped in the cord of a roman shade. The toddler was rushed to the hospital, where he later died. It is estimated that one child dies each month in similar accidents. (1)

The problem is that young children can get tangled easily in the cords used to pull the shades up and down. The CPSC estimated that about 250 young children, including infants, have died from strangulation involving blind cords since 1990,. (2)

Can schools dictate student behavior when classes are not in session? That’s the basis for a court battle between parents and the Haddonfield School District. At issue is the District’s “24/7 Policy” which states underage students caught drinking will be barred from sports and other extra-curricular activities. (1)

The school contends that extracurricular activities are a privilege, not a right, and therefore can be taken away. It also claims students representing the District through sports and other activities can be held to a higher standard. Some parents, on the other hand, argue that the school is overstepping its bounds; monitoring a child’s behavior outside of school is a parental obligation. (2)

Earlier this month, Haddonfield School District won a round when a U.S. District Court refused to oppose the policy. The Court stated there was insufficient proof the policy violated anyone’s rights. As the school pointed out, students do not have to participate in any activities and, if they chose not to, would not be subject to the behavior guidelines. The District now is seeking dismissal of the lawsuit. (1)