Welsh v. Young
| Citation | 240 S.W.2d 584 |
| Parties | WELSH v. YOUNG et al. |
| Decision Date | 12 June 1951 |
| Court | United States State Supreme Court (Kentucky) |
L. M. Ackman, Williamstown, for appellant.
Frank S. Connely, Warsaw, for appellees.
This is an adoption proceeding filed in the Gallatin Circuit Court on July 23, 1949, by appellees, Allen H. Young and Gladys Young, his wife, against appellant, Reba Welsh and her illegitimate child, Anna Jane Ellis. Appellant, who will be referred to as the mother, resisted the adoption but the court overruled her objection and entered an order sustaining the prayer of the petition. The mother appeals.
The applicable sections of the statute are KRS 405.250-405.380 (1948 Edition). These sections were repealed by the 1950 Legislature, and reenacted, with modifications, as KRS 199.470-199.590.
There is no serious contention that appellees failed to follow the statutory procedure. The Department of Welfare was notified of the filing of the petition for adoption, as provided by KRS 405.290, and the record contains two letters from an agent of the Department, dated July 27 and August 29, 1949, stating, in substance, that due to a shortage of personnel the Department would be unable to make a report on the case, and further stating: 'We are willing to abide by the decision of the court in this case.'
At the time the petition was filed, the child, Anna Jane, was six years old. She was placed in appellees' home by consent of her mother on December 15, 1948. On June 15, 1949, the mother signed and acknowledged an instrument designated 'consent of adoption' by which she agreed and consented that appellees might adopt Anna Jane. The mother's defensive pleadings, consisting of special and general demurrers and answer and counterclaim, were filed on November 23, 1949, and the case was heard by the trial Judge in open court on that day.
It is shown by the record that the mother has another illegitimate child, a little boy who now lives with an aunt in Indiana. In the fall of 1948, on complaint of the grandmother of Anna Jane, a warrant was issued by the County Judge of Gallatin County charging the mother with desertion of her children. She was arrested in Louisville and executed bond for her return to Gallatin County for trial. She was not tried on the charge and it was shortly afterwards that Anna Jane was placed in the home of appellees. Her brother was placed with a family in Louisville but they kept him only a few days.
The mother married a man by the name of Welsh in May, 1949. At the time of the hearing, they were living in a second floor apartment on East Broadway in Louisville. It appears that the apartment consists of two rooms, with a small kitchenette or pantry. At the time of the hearing, the mother was 28 years old and her husband 26. The husband was employed as a carpenter's helper for a construction company at a wage of approximately $60 per week. He had held this job for about six weeks. Prior to that he was employed as a bartender.
The mother alleged in her answer and counterclaim that at the time she signed the consent to adoption appellees assured her she could visit Anna Jane and have the child visit her when she was not in school; that appellees have repudiated that agreement and have stated they will not permit her to visit Anna Jane in the future.
It appears that appellees are respected citizens in their community and, although in modest financial circumstances, are capable of rearing and educating Anna Jane. Allen Young is 32 years old and his wife is 31. They were married in 1940 but at the time of the hearing had no children of their own, although Mrs. Young was then pregnant. Mr. Young is a ferryboat operator and owns a one-half interest in the ferry which he operates. According to him, the ferry equipment, including the boat, is worth close to $10,000. The Youngs live in a 3-room house, located on a double lot close to the ferry landing. Mr. Young earns between $60 and $75 per week.
The trial court rendered the following oral opinion:
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Adoption of McKinzie, In re
...Ga.App. 893, 70 S.E.2d 522; In re Adoption of Cannon, 243 Iowa 828, 53 N.W.2d 877; Bailey v. Mars, 138 Conn. 593, 87 A.2d 388; Welsh v. Young, Ky., 240 S.W.2d 584; In re Adoption of Anonymous, 198 Misc. 185, 101 N.Y.S.2d 93; Driggers v. Jolley, 219 S.C. 31, 64 S.E.2d 19; Wright v. Fitzgibbo......
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Pennington v. Marcum, No. 2006-SC-000642-DG.
...having the superior right to custody above all others, if they are fit for the charge and have not given up the right. Welsh v. Young, 240 S.W.2d 584, 586 (Ky.1951). Historically, the guardian by nature of the child was the father, and on his death, the mother. For children born out-of-wedl......
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Fitzgerald v. Davidson
...non-parents are Skaggs v. Gannon, 293 Ky. 795, 170 S.W.2d 12 (1943); Lee v. Thomas, 297 Ky. 858, 181 S.W.2d 457 (1944); Welsh v. Young, Ky., 240 S.W.2d 584 (1951); Higgason v. Henry, Ky., 339 S.W.2d 929 (1960); Manion v. Cofer, Ky., 459 S.W.2d 76 (1970), and Killen v. Parker, Ky., 464 S.W.2......
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T.G.-F. v. J.Y.
...reveals – that proceeded without an investigation and report. See Keeling v. Minton , 339 S.W.2d 464, 465 (Ky. 1960) ; Welsh v. Young , 240 S.W.2d 584, 585 (Ky. 1951). But adoptions without an investigation and report never happen for the reason Aunt and Uncle suggest – i.e. , that nothing ......