Father, Who Had Not Been Informed of the Birth of His Child Until After the Child Was Adopted, Was Properly Awarded Custody of the Child

The Third Department affirmed Family Court’s rulings that: the father’s consent to the adoption of his child was required; the father had preserved his right to contest the adoption of his child; and custody of the child is awarded to the father.  Mother put the child up for adoption and the child was adopted before mother informed father she had given birth to his child.  The Third Department heard the appeal despite problems with the notice of appeal and the absence of the Family Court hearing transcript. No one contested the factual findings made by Family Court:

“The father of a child born out-of-wedlock is entitled to full protection of his relationship with the child, including the right to deny consent to an adoption at birth by strangers, only if he ‘assert[s] his interest promptly . . . [and] manifest[s] his ability and willingness to assume custody of the child'” … . Evaluation of the father’s conduct includes, among other things, factors such as “his public acknowledgment of paternity, payment of pregnancy and birth expenses, steps taken to establish legal responsibility for the child, and other factors evincing a commitment to the child” … . Family Court’s many factual findings included that: the father had paid up to 90% of the household expenses when the mother resided with him; the mother was not visibly pregnant while living with him; the mother did not know she was pregnant until she had moved to New York City; FIA [the adoption agency] made no reasonable effort to notify the father; the father was first notified about the pregnancy and child on May 6, 2014; he was unable to contribute to pregnancy expenses through no fault of his own because he had no knowledge thereof; the mother was urged by FIA to decline to identify the father of her child; and, once the father became aware of the child, he filed a paternity petition within about 10 weeks and then a custody petition and he did so despite difficult logistics regarding filing (he lived in South Carolina, the child had been born in New York City, the adoption was pending in Albany County), as well as a lack of legal representation by counsel. The father submitted an affidavit stating that, after learning of some uncovered costs of the birth, he was making arrangements to pay those costs. He had a job and residence, and was able to take immediate custody of the child. In light of the uncontested facts found by Family Court, as well as the other relevant proof in the record, we are unpersuaded that Family Court erred in determining that the father adequately preserved his right to contest the adoption of his child … . Matter of Isabella TT. (Dalton C.), 2015 NY Slip Op 02838, 3rd Dept 4-2-15