January 11, 2010 By Wallin & Klarich

A recent California Court of Appeals decision held that a biological parent may request a hearing before his or her child is put up for adoption by the state. In M.T. v. Superior Court (San Francisco Dept. of Human Services) the Court of Appeals cited to the California Welfare and Institutions Code (WIC) Section 366.26 for the proposition that the parent has the right to the hearing and must have the opportunity to present evidence that the adoption would not be in the best interest of the child.

The court noted that the father in this case had been absent from his children’s lives for over 5 years and, during that time, the children had been living in foster care. The court ruled that even with the passing of time and the children’s stay in foster care, the father still had parental rights and had the opportunity to present evidence that adoption would not be in their best interest.

The provisions of the WIC section 366.26 are very complicated and span for many pages. If a parent is unsuccessful in convincing the court that adoption would not be in the best interest of the child, then the court can terminate the parent’s rights over the children and order that they be put up for adoption.

If you or someone you love is in the situation described in the WIC §366.26, it is important that you hire an experienced dependency law attorney at Wallin & Klarich. Our dependency, family and juvenile attorneys have over 30 years of experience in successfully handling child dependency matters. We have the skills and expertise to help you through this trying time and ensure that all of your rights are enforced. Children are the most important things in parent’s lives and without adequate representation, the state may be able to terminate all parental rights and put your children up for adoption. Contact the experienced Southern California criminal defense lawyers at Wallin & Klarich today at 1-888-280-6839 or www.wklaw.com for a consultation of your case.

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