Atlanta Divorce Attorney Blog

On March 5, 2009, the Georgia Court of Appeals reversed the trial court’s grant of a grandmother’s adoption petition in Owen v. Watts (A08A2012), something the appellate courts rarely do. The child had been removed from her home with her mother and grandmother and placed with a foster family. The grandmother then filed a petition to adopt the child and the foster parents, who had previously filed a petition to adopt the child, intervened in that action. The trial court granted the grandmother’s petition to adopt the child and the Court of Appeals reversed, finding that “there was no record evidence that supported a finding that the adoption was in the best interest of the child.” The grandmother’s testimony that she loved the child, had taken her to doctor’s appointments and had an appropriate house for the child to live in was held to be insufficient to meet this standard.

The Court of Appeals acknowledged that reversing the grant of adoption is something that the appellate courts rarely do, but rested its decision on the “plethora of evidence…from which the trial court could have concluded that an adoption by Watts was not in [the child’s] best interest.”

A child may be adopted by the spouse of his/her parent in Georgia regardless of whether the child’s other parent is still living, but there are different requirements for each situation. If the child has only one legal parent still living, the child may be adopted by the spouse of his/her living parent only if that parent consents in writing to the adoption. O.C.G.A. §19-8-6(a)(2). If both of the child’s legal parents are living, but not married to each other, the child may be adopted by the spouse of either parent only if the other parent voluntarily surrenders his/her parental rights in writing and the other parent consents in writing to the adoption. O.C.G.A. §19-8-6(a)(1). In either situation, a child fourteen years of age or older must consent in writing to his or her adoption. O.C.G.A. §19-8-6(b).

If the party whose rights the stepparent seeks to terminate refuses to surrender his/her rights, the Court will hold a hearing to determine whether the adoption is in the best interests of the child. If that parent cannot be found, the stepparent must exercise due diligence to try to locate the parent to provide him/her with sufficient notice under Georgia law. The biological/legal parent must receive adequate notice of the proceedings before the Court will grant the adoption and, in our experience as divorce attorneys in Atlanta, the Courts are very strict on this issue.

Before a stepparent adoption can be finalized, the stepparent must undergo a criminal background check through the Georgia Crime Information Center. The Department of Human Resources, or other representative appointed by the Court, will also become involved to verify the allegations in the Petition for Stepparent Adoption. This representative routinely interviews the stepparent and parent and may even visit the home where the child is living.