' [Birth Mother] First Mother Forum: Utah denies stay, Terry Achane's baby going to daddy

Friday, January 18, 2013

Utah denies stay, Terry Achane's baby going to daddy

UPDATE (from Yahoo)

An army drill sergeant, Terry Achane, whose estranged wife put his daughter up for adoption without his knowledge or permission while he was stationed in another state, has been reunited with the little girl, following a nearly two-year battle to get her back. 

"I'm just happy right now. I'm with my daughter," Sgt. Terry Achane said. "It's about time." 

The Utah Supreme Court earlier this month overturned a request by the toddler's adoptive parents to stay a lower court's December order that the child be returned to Achane, her father. 

On Friday (Jan. 25) the original trial judge, Darold McDade who ruled in Achane's favor, held a transfer hearing that resulted in the little girl and her father being united this weekend for the first time since she was born 22 months ago. 

"This is the first known case where the Utah State Supreme Court has removed a child from an [adoptive parent's] home and returned the child to the ... legal father," said Achane's lawyer Mark Wiser. After putting a temporary hold on a trial judge's order giving Terry Achane custody of his daughter, the Utah Supreme Court denied the request of the would-be adoptive parents, the Jared and Kritsi Frei, that the child remain with them while they appeal the trial judge's decision.

Wiser called the Supreme Court's ruling a "huge victory" for "equal parental rights," meaning one parent can't put a child up for adoption without the other's permission, and decried the adoption practice in Utah.

"Terry Achane believes that justice is finally taking place," Wiser said, adding that his client remains "heartbroken that he has missed 22 months of his daughter's life because of what happened. This is time that he and his daughter can never replace."

The Utah Supreme Court set an expedited schedule for the Freis' appeal and will hear oral arguments at the end of March.  

Teleah is going home!

More news when we have it. 

February 11 The Frei's dropped their appeal. Little Teleah is staying with her daddy! (Utah couple ends legal fight over child's adoption), 

From FMF: Utah Supreme Court denies stay

18 comments :

  1. Hallelujah!! Justice has finally been served. I am beyond thrilled to hear this :))

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  2. Hoorah!!
    More good news: the process to change Dutch law such that it is no longer necessary to A-word the baby your wife has given birth to, if you happen to be legally female yourself, to acquire parental rights has started has started this week. It isn't there yet, but removing adoption from this field seems a good thing to me.

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  3. This may do wonders for this little girl's self-esteem when she learns that her daddy fought tooth and nail to keep her. She was that important and that valuable to him. And yes, IRREPLACEABLE.

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  4. This is as I suspected -- the Supreme Court issued a short stay of the transfer until they could take a closer look, and once they did, it was so long Feis. The Utah Supreme Court is critical of the state's adoption practices.

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  5. It's 5+ weeks till March. How does that count as "quick"?

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  6. No, there is no delay.

    Two things are going on. (1) The lower court (court is a fancy name for judge), also called the trial court, ruled that the adoption was invalid and ordered that Terry Achane have custody of his daughter. The Freis appealed this decision to the Utah Supreme Court.

    Appeals often take several years because a transcript (a written copy of all the testimony in the case) has to be prepared, the attorney appealing the case has to file a brief (legal arguments), the other attorney has to file a responsive brief, and the appealing attorney then files a reply brief. Then the Supreme Court hears oral arguments and makes a decision.

    The Utah Supreme Court puts this case on a fast track and the appeal will take less than a year.

    (2) The second thing going is where Teleah will go pending the appeal. The lower court said she would go to Arcane. The Fries asked the Supreme Court to allow her to stay with them during the appeal. The Supreme Court took a day to think about it, thus delaying the transfer. Then it said Teleah is going with Achane. The Supreme Court told the trial court to set up the transfer. The trial court and the attorneys will meet this week to set up the transfer. The transfer will likely happen as soon as Achane can get back to Utah.

    If the Frei's lose their appeal as is expected, Achane will get permanent custody.

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  7. You have to feel sorry for the adoptive parents in this situation but Im glad the child is going with her father. I hope he works with the adoptive family so they can still be in Teleah's life.

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  8. Kimandthecity:

    I can't actually feel sorry for the adoptive parents, the Freis. They knew the adoption was iffy right from the start, and once they heard there was a problem that the father did not agree to giving up his child, they had a moral imperative to return the girl ASAP.

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  9. Why would anyone feel sorry for the would-be adopters? They knew the baby's father was married to the mother and had not signed away his rights. They were fully informed.

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  10. Cannot feel bad for the adoptive parents because they knew the birth mother was legally married and they tried to pull a fast one on the father and his parental rights. Shame on them all because he was serving his country and he came back to the States only to find that his daughter was given away. Sad.

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  11. Those people - the Freis need to let that baby be with her daddy. What selfish, self centered people. That poor daddy lost almost 2 yrs with his child because of both then and his ex wife. I will be praying for him and his baby. My God, I can't believe this people!!! Sooo angry about this!

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  12. I find it heart breaking and actually repulsive that people post such mean comments about the adoptive parents. As an adoptive parent, you put all your trust in the AGENCY to handle things properly from a legal and ethical perspective. These people just wanted to adopt a child- and the child they have bonded with since birth is being removed from their home and placed - right or wrong - with someone she (the child) has not bonded with and probably doesn't know too well. The fault here lies with the agency. Both sides have broken hearts and are hurting beyond anything I can imagine-- especially the adoptive family. I can't imagine posting such mean comments as have been posted above, when I doubt you know the family or have been involved in adoption in any form. We should have nothing but empathy for all involved in this, not cruel comments about either party, but particularly this family whose world has been turned upside down because the agency didn't do its job properly. And bottom line, this child has been traumatized beyond words; our hopes and prayers should be that she is able to get through this time of adjustment with support from others, not criticism from people who have no clue about details of adoption, nor this particular case. My heart goes out to all involved, and that agency better figure out birth father laws and start operating ethically. This is not the first time this agency has had problems like this.

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  13. Shelly, the Freis knew there was a problem with the adoption, that the father had not agreed, that the Bland was married at the time.

    You might want to read this from an adoptee, and a Mormon blogger:

    Utah Couple Used Alleged Divine Revelation to Manipulate $$ Donors

    and the next post at Earth-Stains about them also.

    Warming Up to Adoption Blogging Again - But Not Warming up to the Frei Family

    They put their trust that they could outwit the law and steal another man's child.

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  14. I see some people are now noticing the expressions/mannerisms/looks of Taleah when surrounded by her adopted family and then with her Dad. She is thrilled and happy to be with her Dad, and you can tell is worried/confused/unsure when with her adoptive family. All this "feel bad for the adoptive parents" business ... are you kidding me? Can't you just tell by looking at the pictures which one Taleah prefers? Shouldn't all this evidence lead us to support family preservation? Children want their natural families and will always want their natural families, and that is a fact of life. Do not feel sorry for the adopters. Feel sorry for the legally orphaned children, and stop this heinous practice! Would you want to lose your mother, father, grandparents, siblings, cousins, aunts, uncles, heritage, ancestry, history, feeling of belonging, ability to trust, feeling of safety, knowledge of your origins and your self all in one fell swoop, and when you are most needy and vulnerable? It's not the adopters that suffer most, believe me. The only two types of people I know who really understand this are adoptees and birthmothers. NO ONE ELSE has been able to get it that I have seen, because it is an unnatural knowledge that is learned only through experience. Adopters should be glad they are not adoptees, and have real compassion for real orphans, and not make more of them!

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  15. No comment on the parent issue but, as an adoptee, I cannot help but wonder about the confusion the child is being put through. First, new parents who were complete strangers...now a daddy who is another complete stranger. Wasn't everything supposed to be in the best interests of the child? This child is NOT a commodity. She will one day want some details...who can explain this mess to her in a way that makes sense? Or will it be swept away as unimportant? Believe me, to her it is EXTREMELY important!

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  16. Taleah is going to be fine, as is "Baby Jessica/Anna" of a dozen years ago.

    to wit:

    Anna Lee Jacqueline Schmidt known as Baby Jessica is now a legal adult and is able to contact the Deboers if she wishes to.I am close to her family and have watched Anna grow up to become a very smart and very talented and gifted in the field of music as is her mother Cara and such a beautiful young lady her frame is small only 5 foot tall and she is maybe 100 pounds at best just like her mother Cara's still with those big amazing eyes..thanks to her grandma!

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