South Carolina Adoption Law Blog : South Carolina Adoption Lawyer & Attorney : Russell Hall Law Firm : Termination of Parental Rights, Relinquishment

Below is a checklist required for Spartanburg and Cherokee Counties. I use this checklist with all my adoption files. The checklist is simple to use and covers most requirements of the court.  Another helpful checklist I found can be viewed here; this checklist has outdated code section in it. One suggestion before attempting an adoption in a county you are not familiar with is to contact the administrative judge's office for local rules and contact an attorney that practices in the county you are seeking to file an adoption action in.

ADOPTION CHECKLIST

Plaintiffs vs. Defendants

20____-DR-____-_____

                                                                 ADOPTION CHECKLIST

This Adoption is:

            Step-parent adoption or adoption related by blood or marriage

            Non-relative adoption

The following documents have been filed with the Clerk of Court:

            Summons

            Complaint

            Order appointing GAL

            Proper service of Order appointing GAL on the GAL

            Answer of GAL

Proof of service of Summons and Complaint on:

           Biological parents (if no consent/relinquishment or TPR)

             Child to be adopted (if 14 years or older)

           GAL or child (if 13 years or younger)

            Proof of Service by Publication (if served by Publication)

            Notice to named biological father

____    Responsible Father Registry Search Results

            Mother's Consent Relinquishment (if given)

            Father's Consent Relinquishment (if given)

            Consent of Child if age 14 or older

            Pre-placement Investigation signed within one year of date of placement (not required if step-parent adoption or related by blood or marriage)

            Post-Placement Investigation (not required if step-parent adoption or related by blood or marriage)

            Medical & Social History (not required if step-parent adoption or related by blood or marriage)

            Itemized Accounting (not required if step-parent adoption or related by blood or marriage)

            Adoption Placement Certificate (if DSS placement)

            Answer of DSS (if DSS placement)

           Service of Summons and Complaint on DSS (if DSS placement)

            Notice of Hearing to DSS (if DSS placement)

            Interstate Compact Approval (if child is placed out of state or placed in S.C. from another state)

            Order of Exceptional Circumstances (if child is placed in another State from S.C.)

Date:________________   

________________________________________

Attorney for Plaintiffs

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If you are related to the child you are adopting, you may be able to receive financial assistance through DSS.

A child may receive an adoption subsidy if the child has special needs, is legally free for adoption and the adoptive family cannot adopt the child without the financial assistance. The child must meet one or more of the following criteria:

• a white child 10 years old or older.
• a black or mixed race child 6 years old or older.
• a child having or at risk of having a physical, mental or emotional handicap.
• a member of a white sibling group of three being placed together, one of whom is at least 6 years old, or a member of a sibling group of four or more white children of any age.
• a member of a black or mixed-race sibling group of two being placed together, one of whom is at least 6 years old, or a member of a black or mixed race sibling group of three or more children of any age.
• a member of a sibling group of two or more being placed together, one of whom is a special needs child.

This Assistance includes $1,500.00 for nonrecurring cost of adoption such as attorney's fees. This is more fully discuss in the FAQ link.

Below are the area adoption offices for South Carolina. Contact the office that covers your county for further information and/or vist this DSS link for informaiton.

Area Adoption Offices

Area A

714 North Pleasantburg Drive
Suite 300
Greenville, S.C. 29607
(864) 241-1070 / 1-800-868-6595
Anderson, Cherokee, Greenville, Oconee, Pickens and Spartanburg counties

454 South Anderson Road
Rock Hill, S.C. 29730
(803) 329-9626 / 1-800-922-1537
Chester, Fairfield, Lancaster, Union and York counties


Area B

Children's Center of South Carolina
2638 Two Notch Road, Suite 220
Columbia, S.C. 29204
(803) 929-2555 / 1-888-711-7095
Abbeville, Edgefield, Greenwood, Kershaw, Laurens, Lee, Lexington, McCormick, Newberry, Richland, Saluda and Sumter counties

Aiken DSS Office
P.O. Drawer 1268
Aiken, S.C. 29802-1268
(803) 502-1826 / 1-888-866-8852
Aiken and Barnwell counties


Area C

3346 Rivers Avenue
Suite F
North Charleston, S.C. 29405
(843) 953-9750 / 1-800-922-1518
Allendale, Beaufort, Berkeley, Charleston, Colleton, Hampton and Jasper counties

Orangeburg DSS Office
P.O. Box 1087
Orangeburg, S.C. 29116-1087
(803) 515-1846
Bamberg, Dorchester, Calhoun and Orangeburg counties


Area D

181 East Evans Street, Suite 112
Florence, S.C. 29501
(843) 661-2495 / 1-800-763-6637
Chesterfield, Clarendon, Darlington, Dillon, Florence, Georgetown, Horry, Marion, Marlboro and Williamsburg counties

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“In South Carolina, there is a common law presumption that a child born during lawful wedlock is a child of the marriage.”  Fisher v. Tucker, 388 S.C. 388, 697 S.E.2d 548 (S.C. 2010).

“No judgment of divorce from the bonds of matrimony shall render illegitimate the child begotten of the marriage.” Section 20-3-200 of the South Carolina Code of Laws, as amended.

No matter who is the biological father the husband is the presumed father if the mother is married at conception and birth or birth. The best practice when helping petitioners adopt a child of a married couple is to have the husband sign a consent and relinquishment or name him in the adoption petition and seek to terminate his rights under the termination of parental rights (TPR) statutes.

One of the TPR statutes covers this specific situation if the presumed father(husband) is not the biological father(sperm donor); " The family court may order the termination of parental rights upon a finding of one or more of the following grounds and a finding that termination is in the best interest of the child:...The presumptive legal father is not the biological father of the child, and the welfare of the child can best be served by termination of the parental rights of the presumptive legal father.” Section 63-7-2570(5) of the South Carolina Code of Law, as amened.

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In my TPR: Clear and Convincing Evidence, I explained the burden required to terminate a parent's rights. Even if you can overcome that burden, you still need to show that the termination is in the best interest of the child. Trying to define the best interest of the child is like herding cats; I try to figure it out on a case-by-case basis, and I will not attempt to define it in this post.

However, I have noticed as I try cases that the facts I used to overcome the clear and convincing evidence burden are  often enough to show that the termination of parental rights is in the best interest of the child. That coupled with the fact that the folks that are asking for the termination of a parent's rights  generally already have physical custody of the child and are acting as the parent equals a pretty clear decision that termination of parental rights is in the child's best interest. Then again that is only one of many cats that needs to be herded.

James Fletcher Thompson, Esq., penned a chapter on "Best Interest of the Child" standard in his book South Carolina Adoption Law and Practice: A Guide for Attorneys, Certified Investigators, and Families. This book  would be a good starting point for you in understanding the dynamics we call "Best Interest of the Child." Here is a brief review and ordering information.

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Two of the most common grounds I use to terminate the parental rights of an individual when my clients are seeking to adopt a child are willful failure to support the child and willful failure to visit with the child.

Though I may technically have the grounds to terminate the parent's rights, I have to show the judge by clear and convincing evidence that the parent has willfully failed to visit or support the child. What is “clear and convincing evidence?” It is evidence that satisfies the judge that there is a high degree of probability that the elements for the ground to terminate the parental rights of the biological parent are satisfied. 

This burden is fairly easy to prove if the biological parent does not show up for court because my client is the only one presenting testimony and evidence. If I anticipate that the biological parent will show up to court, I ensure that I have enough evidence to overcome the burden of proof by clear and convincing evidence.

The most difficult element I have to show in both grounds is the element "willful." I have to keep this in mind when preparing for the trial. It is fairly easy to show whether or not the biological parent supported the child or not. What is more difficult to prove by clear and convincing evidence is whether or not the biological parent willfully failed to support the child. A couple of examples of the facts that helped prove beyond clear and convincing  evidence that the biological parent willfully failed to support the child can be found at this link. This same burden of proof of course also applies to willful failure to visit.

The grounds for TPR are found in Section 63-7-2570 of South Carolina Code of Laws, as amended.

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One of the Court's requirements to finalize an interstate adoption is a letter of compliance from the ICPC office. The last document you should send to the ICPC office prior to your final hearing is the post-placement home study; request your letter of compliance upon submitting the post-placement home study and file the letter with the court prior to the final hearing if time permits. Thereafter, you will not have to worry with obtaining this letter at the last minute. This letter is easy to overlook; don't forget it.

The contact information for the ICPC offices in all fifty states can be found at the AAICPC website which is linked to the blog post below: http://www.southcarolinaadoptionlaw.com/2011/05/articles/adoption/interstate-adoption-1/aaicpc-website/

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http://myrtlebeach.thedigitel.com/event-calendars/sc-state-treasurer-loftis-proclaims-national-adopt-33439-1118

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http://www.cmt.com/news/news-in-brief/1674665/martina-mcbride-will-host-adoption-special-on-cbs.jhtml

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During this month of celebrating the wonders of adoptions I want to remind fellow attorneys and potential adoptive parents that like other wonderful endeavors adoption has a potentially nasty underbelly. This article describes the content of a new book, FINDING FERNANDA, concerning adoption and human trafficking; the worst of the worst as far a nasty underbellies are concerned. 

I plead with attorneys and potential adoptive parents to be ever vigilant as we proceed with adoption to help stop the abuses described in this book and help ensure that all adoptions will be celebrated as a grand way to allow loving parents to bring deserving children into their home. May our efforts be so great that we never have to hear of such atrocities as are cited in this book again.

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