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NEW YORK: L.M.B. v. E.R.J. (In re adoption of Doe)
02.24.2010 | Adoption / International
In a case involving an unmarried couple who had planned to jointly adopt a Cambodian orphan, both of whom now claim to be the child’s parent, the Court of Appeals of New York affirmed the surrogate court’s order granting appellee-L.M.B.’s petition to vacate the adoption decree previously granted to appellant-E.R.J. The appeals court found that: the adoption must be vacated because L.M.B. had previously validly adopted the child under Cambodian law; the Cambodian adoption must be accorded comity; and the New York adoption by E.R.J. was invalid because L.M.B., who is the child’s legal father, was never given proper notice of the adoption and had not validly consented the adoption. In addition, the court of appeals held that, in a foreign adoption, once parental rights have been established properly under New York law and the parent and child continue to live in New York, New York law applies and the continuing parental-child relationship cannot be determined upon the foreign country’s laws.
Cite: No. 20, 2010 NY Slip Op 1345; 2010 N.Y. LEXIS 19 (N.Y. Feb. 16, 2010)
Link to Full Opinion
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