In Re the Adoption of: H.M.C. v. N.C. & L.T.B.

• Decision Date: 08 February 2000
• Citation: 11 S.W.3d 81
• Parties: (Mo.App. W.D. 2000) In Re the Adoption of: H.M.C., Plaintiff, M.A.R. and D.M.R., Respondents, v. N.C. (Natural Mother), L.T.B. (Natural Father), J.B. and E.B., Appellants. WD56367, WD56393 and WD 56371 Handdown Date: 0
• Court: Missouri Court of Appeals

11 S.W.3d 81 (Mo.App. W.D. 2000)

In Re the Adoption of: H.M.C., Plaintiff, M.A.R. and D.M.R., Respondents, v. N.C. (Natural Mother), L.T.B. (Natural Father), J.B. and E.B., Appellants.

WD56367, WD56393 and WD 56371

Missouri Court of Appeals Western District

Handdown Date: 02/08/2000

Appeal From: Circuit Court of Benton County, Hon. Theodore B. Scott

Counsel for Appellant: Anita Donaldson Conboy, Jeffrey Leon Dull, and Gary W. Lynch

Counsel for Respondent: Mark Brandon Pilley

Opinion Summary:

The natural mother and father appeal the trial court's order terminating their parental rights to their minor child and entering a decree of adoption in favor of the adoptive parents. In this consolidated appeal, the paternal grandparents contend that the trial court erred in denying, without an evidentiary hearing, their motion to intervene in the adoptive parents' adoption action and their motion to consolidate their adoption action with the adoptive parents' action.

AFFIRMED.

Division Two holds:

(1) Where the natural mother voluntarily relinquished all care for the child to the adoptive parents, consented to the appointment of the adoptive parents as permanent guardians of the child, moved to another state, failed to maintain any contact with the child when she knew where the child resided, and made de minimus efforts to locate the child after the adoptive parents moved, the trial court's determination that the natural mother willfully abandoned her child was supported by clear, cogent and convincing evidence.

(2) Where the natural father knew of the child but made no attempt to contact or support the child, the trial court's determination that the natural father willfully abandoned the child was supported by clear, cogent and convincing evidence.

(3) Where the paternal grandparents had played virtually no role in the child's life nor had they attempted to contact or locate the child, where there was no indication that the the adoptive parents would be unsuitable, and where granting the the paternal grandparent's motion would require the child be removed from the only family the child had known for over four years, the evidence supported the trial court's decision that intervention by the grandparents was against the best interests of the child. The trial court did not abuse its discretion in denying, without an evidentiary hearing, their motion to intervene in the adoption action, or alternatively, their motion to consolidate their adoption action with the adoptive parents' action.

Opinion Author: Robert G. Ulrich

Opinion Vote: AFFIRMED. Spinden, P.J. and Lowenstein, J. concur.

Opinion:

N.C. ("Natural Mother'") and L.T.B. ("Natural Father") appeal the trial court's order terminating their parental rights to their minor child and entering a decree of adoption in favor of M.A.R. and D.M.R. ("Adoptive Parents") pursuant to section 453.040(5), RSMo 1994.¹ Natural Mother and Father contend that the trial court erred in terminating their parental rights because the court's decision was not supported by clear, cogent and convincing evidence that Natural Mother had willfully abandoned or willfully, substantially and continuously neglected to provide the child with necessary care and protection in that Adoptive Parents' actions prevented Natural Parents from visiting and communicating with their child and exercising their parental rights. In this consolidated appeal, Paternal Grandparents contend that the trial court erred in denying, without an evidentiary hearing, their motion to intervene in Adoptive Parents' adoption action, or alternatively, their motion to consolidate their adoption action with Adoptive Parents' action. The judgment of the trial court is affirmed.

Facts

H.M.C. was born May 15, 1991, in St. Louis, Missouri, to Natural Mother and Natural Father. At the time of the child's birth, Natural Mother was unmarried and Natural Father resided in Florida. Natural Mother has a ninth grade education and both her parents were deceased at the time of the child's birth.

Natural Mother moved with the child to Sedalia, Missouri, when the child was about two months old to be near J.B. and E.B. ("Paternal Grandparents"). When the child was about seventeen months old, Natural Mother began taking the child to a state-subsidized daycare run by D.M.R. ("Adoptive Mother") in Sedalia. The child attended Adoptive Mother's daycare on a regular basis during fall and winter of 1992, ceased attending in early 1993 when the child was hospitalized for malnutrition, then returned to the daycare in the spring of 1993. In the fall of 1993, the child began staying overnight with Adoptive Mother. The overnight stays were thereafter reported by Adoptive Mother to the Division of Family Services ("DFS") caseworker who was assigned to Natural Mother's case. Upon the advice of DFS, Adoptive Mother requested and received permission from Natural Mother to authorize medical care for the child.

Natural Mother and the child moved from Sedalia to Camdenton in November 1993 where they stayed in Adoptive Parents' residence with Adoptive Father and his two teenage step-children. Adoptive Mother was still living in Sedalia and driving to Camdenton on the weekends. At some point the child returned to Sedalia with Adoptive Mother.

In December 1993, a DFS caseworker contacted Adoptive Mother wanting to speak with Natural Mother. Adoptive Mother contacted Natural Mother and informed her that the DFS caseworker was looking for her and DFS wanted to put the child in foster care. Concerned that the child would be placed in foster care, Natural Mother agreed to appointing Adoptive Parents as guardians of the child.

After living in Camdenton in Adoptive Parents home for a few weeks, Adoptive Parents drove Natural Mother back to Sedalia on December 21, 1993. Two days later, Adoptive Parents drove Natural Mother from Sedalia to Adoptive Parents' attorney's office in Camdenton to discuss the petition for appointment of guardian and conservator. Natural Mother consented to appointing Adoptive Parents as guardian and conservators of the child and the petition was filed with Natural Mother's signature on December 23, 1993. Natural Father's signature was not obtained as the child's birth certificate indicated that the father's name was unknown.

Shortly after the petition appointing Adoptive Parents as guardian and conservator of the child was filed, Adoptive Mother moved with the child to Camdenton where Adoptive Father had been residing for the previous six months.

Natural Mother had two supervised visits with the child during the month of January 1994. The following month Adoptive Mother, with the child, drove to where Natural Mother was staying in Sedalia and requested that Natural Mother sign an affidavit stating her parents were deceased. In February, a guardian ad litem was appointed and the affidavit signed by Natural Mother was filed with the Camden County court. The guardianship hearing took place in March 1994 and Adoptive Parents were thereafter appointed permanent guardians and conservators of the child. The following month Natural Mother moved to Kansas. She obtained employment at two restaurants and rented a three-bedroom apartment. During her stay in Kansas, she contacted a legal assistance organization and was informed that she was ineligible for free legal assistance based upon her income level.

During the period of December 1993 through February 1995, Adoptive Parents lived with the child in Camdenton in the house where Natural Mother had briefly lived with them. Adoptive Parents moved with the child from Camdenton to Marshall in February 1995, and Adoptive Mother opened another state-licensed daycare. Adoptive Parents again moved with the child from Marshall to Warsaw in October 1995. At all times, Adoptive Parents had an unlisted telephone number.

The first guardianship status report was filed by Adoptive Parents on April 1996, a year overdue, and two months prior to the filing of their petition for adoption. The status report filed with the court contained the address of Adoptive Parents but did not contain their unlisted telephone number. None of the three subsequent annual status reports filed by Adoptive Parents included Adoptive Parents' telephone number.

After living and working in Kansas for two years, Natural Mother moved from Kansas to Arizona in March 1996. Upon the advice of an Arizona legal assistance organization, Natural Mother wrote a letter to the child and mailed it on May 8, 1996, addressed to Adoptive Parents' Camdenton address. The letter was returned marked with a Sedalia forwarding address. Natural Mother mailed a certified letter to the Sedalia forwarding address on June 12, 1996, which was later returned. Coincidentally, Natural Mother mailed the Sedalia-addressed letter on the same day Adoptive Parents filed their petition for adoption and termination of parental rights.

Temporary legal custody was transferred to Adoptive Parents on August 14, 1996. In January 1997, Natural Mother suffered a frontal lobe stroke which rendered her totally incapacitated and necessitated that she move to Maine so that her sister could care for her.

Natural Father filed a motion to intervene in Adoptive Parent's adoption action in January 1997, which was denied. The motion was later sustained after Natural Father's paternity was established by a court judgment. Natural Father's parents, Paternal Grandparents, also filed a motion to intervene, which was denied. Thereafter, Paternal Grandparents filed a petition for transfer of custody and adoption and a motion to consolidate their action with Adoptive Parents' adoption action. The court denied the motion to consolidate.

After the August 12, 1998 hearing, the trial court entered its decree of adoption in favor of Adoptive Parents, terminating the parental rights of Natural Parents based upon the court's finding that Natural Parents had willfully abandoned the...