W.M. v. H.T. ( 2020 )

FILED
Oct 05 2020, 8:41 am
CLERK
Indiana Supreme Court
Court of Appeals
and Tax Court
ATTORNEY FOR APPELLANT ATTORNEY FOR APPELLEE
Ryan D. Bower Alice Bartanen Blevins
New Albany, Indiana Salem, Indiana
IN THE
COURT OF APPEALS OF INDIANA
W.M., October 5, 2020
Appellant-Petitioner, Court of Appeals Case No.
20A-AD-403
v. Appeal from the Washington
Circuit Court
H.T., The Honorable Larry Medlock,
Appellee-Respondent. Judge
Trial Court Cause No.
88C01-1903-AD-7, 88C01-1903-
AD-8, & 88C01-1903-AD-9
Riley, Judge.
Court of Appeals of Indiana | Opinion 20A-AD-403 | October 5, 2020 Page 1 of 7
STATEMENT OF THE CASE
[1] Appellant-Petitioner, W.M. (Father), the biological father of J.K.N.M.,
Z.L.L.M., and M.J.R.M. (collectively, Children), appeals the trial court’s
Orders, granting the petition for adoption of the Children by H.T. (Adoptive
Mother).
[2] We remand.
ISSUE
[3] Father raises one issue on appeal, which we restate as the following: Whether
the trial court abused its discretion in granting Adoptive Mother’s petition for
adoption.
FACTS AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY
[4] Daughters, J.K.N.M. (born on September 18, 2003), Z.L.L.M. (born on
November 15, 2004), and M.J.R.M. (born on January 29, 2007), were all born
out of wedlock to Father and L.T. (Mother). Father’s paternity was established
at birth when Father signed the paternity affidavit. In 2011, Father and Mother
separated. Mother thereafter began a relationship with Adoptive Mother and
the two resided together for a period of two years. On June 27, 2014, Mother
married Adoptive Mother.
[5] In August 2017, Father was sentenced to serve a ten-year sentence for his
conviction for Level 2 felony dealing in methamphetamine, and his projected
Court of Appeals of Indiana | Opinion 20A-AD-403 | October 5, 2020 Page 2 of 7
release date is 2023 when the Children will be 19, 18, and 16 years of age
respectively.
[6] On March 25, 2019, with Mother’s consent, Adoptive Mother petitioned the
trial court to adopt the Children. Father filed his objection on April 18, 2019,
and on December 5, 2019, a hearing was conducted. Father testified that the
last time he had any contact with his daughters was in 2015. At the close of the
hearing, the trial court ordered a guardian ad litem report which was submitted
on January 15, 2020.
[7] In the report, Guardian Ad Litem Diane Haag (GAL Haag) stated that the
Children reported that they loved and were close to Adoptive Mother and
wanted to be adopted. Paternal grandmother stated that she did not agree with
Mother’s and Adoptive Mother’s sexuality, did not understand why the girls
had to be adopted, and that the girls were well bonded with Father. Paternal
grandmother also claimed that the Children were being mentally and
emotionally abused by Adoptive Mother. Paternal grandfather likewise stated
that he did not agree with the adoption. He claimed that Adoptive Mother was
a violent person and he believed that the Children were being threatened or
coerced by Adoptive Mother to say that they wanted to be adopted. Maternal
grandmother equally stated that she did not agree with the adoption or
Mother’s sexuality, and she believed that Adoptive Mother regularly beat the
Children with a belt. Mother stated that Father had been in and out of prison
for most of his daughters’ lives and that the girls did not want to visit Father
when he was in jail. Mother also claimed that she prevented her daughters
Court of Appeals of Indiana | Opinion 20A-AD-403 | October 5, 2020 Page 3 of 7
from being around their paternal grandparents due to them coming back with
head lice and bed bugs, and that she also did not want them to be around the
drugs she believed Father was involved in when he was not in prison.
[8] As to the claims of abuse by Adoptive Mother, the Children confessed to GAL
Haag that they had lied about the abuse only to make their grandparents happy.
GAL Haag also determined that much of the opposition to the adoption from
the grandparents and Father stemmed from their dislike for Mother’s and
Adoptive Mother’s sexuality and their fear that they would lose the ability to
see the Children. GAL Haag then noted that Father had not been involved in
his daughters’ lives. Ultimately, GAL Haag recommended the adoption. On
January 19, 2020, the trial court entered separate Orders of adoption in favor of
Adoptive Mother after finding that she was fit to raise the Children, and that it
was in the Children’s best interest to be adopted.
[9] Father now appeals. Additional information will be provided as necessary.
DISCUSSION AND DECISION
[10] Father contends that the trial court erred in granting Adoptive Mother’s petition
to adopt the Children. He argues that he did not give his consent to the
adoptions and that they should be set aside.
[11] As a reviewing court, we will not disturb the trial court’s decision in an
adoption proceeding unless the evidence leads to but one conclusion and the
trial court reached the opposite conclusion. In re Infant Girl W., 845 N.E.2d
229, 238 (Ind. Ct. App. 2006), trans. denied. We will neither reweigh the
Court of Appeals of Indiana | Opinion 20A-AD-403 | October 5, 2020 Page 4 of 7
evidence nor reassess the credibility of witnesses, and we will examine only the
evidence most favorable to the trial court’s decision. Id. On appeal, we will not
reweigh the evidence, instead focusing on the evidence and inferences most
favorable to the trial court’s decision. J.H. v. J.L. & C.L., 973 N.E.2d 1216, 1222
(Ind. Ct. App. 2012). We generally give considerable deference to a trial court’s
rulings in family law matters, “as we recognize that the trial judge is in the best
position to judge the facts, determine witness credibility, get a feel for family
dynamics, and get a sense of the parents and their relationship with their
children.” Id.
[12] The granting of a petition for adoption is a multi-step process. Indiana Code
section 31-19-11-1(a) lists the prerequisites to granting a petition, including that
“the adoption requested is in the best interest of the child” and “proper consent,
if consent is necessary, has been given.” If the requirements listed in the statute
are met, “the court shall grant the petition for adoption and enter an adoption
decree.” Ind. Code § 31-19-11-1(a).
[13] Generally, the first step in the process is determining whether the biological
parent’s consent to the adoption is required. Indiana Code section 31-19-9-8
addresses when consent is not required and provides, in relevant part:
(a) Consent to adoption, which may be required under Section 1
of this chapter, is not required from any of the following:
***
Court of Appeals of Indiana | Opinion 20A-AD-403 | October 5, 2020 Page 5 of 7
(2) A parent of a child in the custody of another person if for a
period of at least one (1) year the parent:
(A) fails without justifiable cause to communicate significantly
with the child when able to do so; or
(B) knowingly fails to provide for the care and support of the
child when able to do so as required by law or judicial decree.
***
(11) A parent if:
(A) a petitioner for adoption proves by clear and convincing
evidence that the parent is unfit to be a parent; and
(B) the best interests of the child sought to be adopted would be
served if the court dispensed with the parent’s consent.
[14] The record shows that the last time Father communicated with the Children
was in 2015. Adoptive Mother filed her petition to adopt the Children in 2019.
Though the record contains evidence demonstrating that Father failed to
communicate with the Children for more than a year which could support a
conclusion that Father’s consent was not required, the adoption Orders in this
case fail to explicitly reference that pertinent fact and only denotes the fact that
Adoptive Mother is a fit parent and that it would be in the Children’s best
interest to be adopted.
Court of Appeals of Indiana | Opinion 20A-AD-403 | October 5, 2020 Page 6 of 7
[15] Even assuming that the trial court’s discussion that Adoptive Mother was a fit
parent was the trial court’s way of presumably referencing Indiana Code section
31-19-9-8(a)(11), which provides another path for dispensing with consent, the
trial court failed to make the specific findings required by that provision,
namely, that (1) Father is unfit to be a parent and (2) “the best interests of the
child sought to be adopted would be served if the court dispensed with the
parent’s consent.” Because the adoption Orders failed to specify under which
of the multiple exceptions provided by Indiana Code section 31-19-9-8(a) the
trial court was dispensing with Father’s consent to the adoption, we remand
this case with instructions for the trial court to enter such a specific findings.
CONCLUSION
[16] Because the trial court failed to make any findings that would support
dispensing with Father’s consent, we remand and retain jurisdiction to the trial
court for further findings as required by statute. The judgment of the trial court
shall be filed with this court within 30 days from the issuance of this opinion.
[17] Remanded.
[18] May, J. and Altice, J. concur
Court of Appeals of Indiana | Opinion 20A-AD-403 | October 5, 2020 Page 7 of 7