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LEGAL GUARDIAN’S PETITION TO ADOPT CHILD SHOULD NOT HAVE BEEN DENIED BASED SOLELY UPON THE GUARDIAN’S CRIMINAL HISTORY (SECOND DEPT).

The Second Department, reversing Family Court, determined the legal guardian’s petition to adopt the child should not have been denied solely based upon petitioner’s criminal history. The criminal history was 20 years old and petitioner had been the child’s legal guardian for five years:

A court must determine whether a proposed adoption is in the best interests of the child … . The court should consider all the relevant factors … . “[P]erfection is not demanded of adoptive parents” … , and “even an unacceptable record of misconduct by adoptive parents may be mitigated by evidence that the proposed adoptive child is healthy and happy and considers petitioners to be his [or her] parents” … .

Here, the Family Court erred in determining that the adoption was not in the child’s best interests based solely on the petitioner’s criminal history. The court should have received evidence and considered other factors relevant to the issue. This is particularly true since the petitioner had been appointed the child’s permanent guardian and had served in that role for over five years, which was most of the child’s life, and all of the petitioner’s convictions occurred more than 20 years before he commenced this proceeding … . Matter of Isabella (Charles O.), 2018 NY Slip Op 01309, Second Dept 2-28-18

FAMILY LAW (ADOPTION, LEGAL GUARDIAN’S PETITION TO ADOPT CHILD SHOULD NOT HAVE BEEN DENIED BASED SOLELY UPON THE GUARDIAN’S CRIMINAL HISTORY (SECOND DEPT))/ADOPTION ( LEGAL GUARDIAN’S PETITION TO ADOPT CHILD SHOULD NOT HAVE BEEN DENIED BASED SOLELY UPON THE GUARDIAN’S CRIMINAL HISTORY (SECOND DEPT))

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