A New Jersey Adoption Gone Wrong

It was an extremely hard decision, but a New Jersey mother handed over her child to the adoptive family only a few days after he was born. Racked with guilt and indecision a million thoughts rushed through her head, from wondering if she made the right decision to wondering if this was really the right thing to do for her child, and even if there was any way that she could change her mind and take her baby back. She was only a freshman in college, and with the father wanting nothing to do with the child as well as her and her mother getting evicted from their house it seemed at this point that she had no other options. However, a month after having her baby and signing him over for adoption she finally realized that she had made a mistake and now had to wonder, was there anything she could do to get him back?

A Legal Battle Begins

Adoption can be a very passionate and stressful process, and for those very reasons, New Jersey has very strict rules on how the process can be done. There are some states that give a new mother a certain time period to reverse the decision of giving her child up for adoption if they so wish, but New Jersey is not one of those states. In fact, once the “surrender” documents are signed the adoption is considered official and there is nothing the mother can do to change her decision. However, if it can be proven that the papers were signed due to fraud or misrepresentation for some reason that can be a legal way to get that decision reversed, and in this particular case this New Jersey woman thought she may have an argument that could change the entire situation.

All Options Must be Discussed with the Mother Before the Adoption

New Jersey laws are clear that once the papers are signed the adoption is final. However, there are also laws that state that the adoption agency must provide the mother with all of the options that are available to her when deciding to give up her child for adoption and failure to do so can null the contract. In this specific instance, the mother claims that she was unaware that she could either apply for government assistance to help support her child or even put her child into a foster care program until she could become more financially stable and eventually get her child back again. Since the woman claims that this was not explained to her she requested that the decision be reversed and that she should be able to get her baby back.

An Appeal by the Adoptive Parents Stalls the Process

Due to a last-minute appeal by the parents who were adopting the child, the decision has now gone back to the courts and unfortunately for the mother, she is not able to be in possession of her child while this continued process keeps going on in court. The decision will now be made by a panel of appellate judges in the New Jersey Superior Court Appellate Division, but as of now, there is no timetable for when this decision will be made. Because of the sensitive nature of this issue, details of the case for the sides of both parties is not known, and only time will tell how this delicate and unfortunate situation will end up unfolding.

Schedule a Free Consultation with a Child Custody Lawyer Today

New Jersey adoption laws were set up to try and avoid situations such as this but the reality is they do sometimes occur. This is why you need to contact the qualified family lawyers at Davis and Mendelson to schedule your consultation. Call us at 866-560-9512 or fill out our convenient online contact form today.

The articles on this blog are for informative purposes only and are no substitute for legal advice or an attorney-client relationship. If you are seeking legal advice, please contact our law firm directly.

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