red dot icon
Journal Article This article describes the court case in which the Kansas Supreme Court addresses the stepparent adoption provision of the Kansas Adoption and Relinquishment Act. The court for this case held that the statute will be strictly interpreted in favor of the birth father who was in danger of having his parental rights forfeited when the issue was whether he failed or refused to fulfill his parental obligations. The court for this case reversed the district court order granting the adoption by the stepfather. The court granted significant protection in the stepparent adoption to the father who…
red dot icon
Journal Article In 1994, the Illinois Supreme Court affirmed an order dissolving the adoption of "Baby Richard" and returning the child to his biological parents after 3 1/2 years with an adoptive family. This decision prompted the Illinois General Assembly to make significant changes to the State's adoption laws. In an effort to secure the finality of adoptions, the legislature promulgated several new burdens on putative fathers. The author examines the problems faced by courts and legislatures across the United States in addressing the plight of thwarted putative fathers, analyzes the case and the new…
