Opinion ID: 2101661
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Revocation of Adoption

Text: As noted above, Ind. Code § 31-3-3-1 through § 31-3-3-12 establishes the adoption procedures in Indiana. The statutes, however, do not directly address the revocation of an adoption. In fact, public policy disfavors a revocation of an adoption because an adoption is intended to bring a parent and child together in a permanent relationship, to bring stability to the child's life, and to allow laws of intestate succession to apply with certainty to adopted children. Risner v. Risner (1963), 243 Ind. 581, 582 n. 1, 189 N.E.2d 105, 106; Rhodes v. Shirley (1955), 234 Ind. 587, 596, 129 N.E.2d 60, 64. Although public policy abhors the idea of being able to send the child back, we recognize that an order of adoption is a judgment and may be set aside pursuant to Indiana Trial Rule 60(B). See, e.g., Adoptive Parents of M.L.V. v. Wilkens (1992), Ind., 598 N.E.2d 1054, 1057; State ex rel. Bradshaw v. Probate Court of Marion County (1947), 225 Ind. 268, 273, 73 N.E.2d 769, 772; County Dept. of Pub. Welfare v. Morningstar (1958), 128 Ind. App. 688, 151 N.E.2d 150. Sudis' petition to revoke the adoption asked the trial court to set aside its earlier judgment of adoption. The petition was premised on the theories that (1) FCS made a material misrepresentation when it failed to disclose that T.B. had been sexually abused prior to adoption and (2) in the best interests of T.B., the adoption should be revoked. Sudis asserts that Indiana's juvenile laws recognize the power of the trial court to terminate the parent-child relationship and that the effect of the trial court's revocation of its order of adoption is to terminate the parent-child relationship. On the other hand, FCS asserts that once an adoption has been granted, it cannot be revoked unless the party seeking to revoke the adoption establishes that the adoption was procured through fraud. Additionally, FCS asserts that the factual findings of the trial court are not supported by the evidence because, although the trial court could conclude that T.B. had substantial emotional problems, it could not conclude that T.B. was not suitable for adoption. In order to set aside the order of adoption based on fraud, there must be a material misrepresentation of past or existing fact made with knowledge or reckless disregard for the falsity of the statement, and the misrepresentation must be relied upon to the detriment of the relying party. Adoptive Parent of M.L.V. v. Wilkens (1992), Ind., 598 N.E.2d 1054, 1058. Sudis alleges that the failure of FCS to inform her of the sexual abuse of T.B. which occurred prior to the adoption establishes fraud. The evidence produced at the hearing included that T.B. never admitted the sexual abuse until she received counseling at Charter Hospital during the summer of 1990, that T.B. was removed from her natural mother's care due to neglect, that the precise nature of the sexual abuse is not known, and that T.B.'s natural mother denied all allegations of sexual abuse. The trial court made the following factual determinations: 13. That the Lake County Department of Public Welfare, through proper investigation, should have discovered the existence of and determined the extent of said abuse. 14. That the Lake County Department of Public Welfare failed to inform Petitioner of the extent of abuse the child suffered prior to the adoption. Although the record may support a finding that FCS acted negligently in failing to discover the alleged sexual abuse, it does not support a finding that FCS committed fraud. Consequently, the attempt to set aside the adoption based upon fraud must fail. Sudis' petition also asserted that it was in the best interests of T.B. to terminate the relationship. Sudis, however, is not the proper party to bring an action to terminate the parent-child relationship. See Ind. Code Ann. §§ 31-6-5-2, 31-6-5-4 (West Supp. 1992). Because Sudis was not the proper party to bring the action, the merits of the action were not properly before the trial court. If at some future date the guardian ad litem or other party provided by statute chooses to bring the action, the merits could then be properly adjudicated by the trial court. Ind. Code § 31-6-5-4.