Opinion ID: 1142830
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: care and support

Text: The superior court also found that R.N.T. had failed significantly and without justification to provide for the care and support of his children since the time of the divorce. By statute, such failure over a one year period is an alternative ground for dispensing with a natural parent's consent to an adoption. Thus, we must review this finding as well. By the terms of the divorce decree, R.N.T. was required to pay $100.00 per child per month as child support to M.I.G.R.N.T. admitted that he had not complied with that order. [3] However, R.N.T. repeatedly testified that from the time of the divorce until June or July, 1978 he was informally giving money to M.I.G. to help support the children, and that he was himself taking care of them. J.R.G. did not rebut this testimony at the adoption hearing. In December, 1978 R.N.T. was arrested and incarcerated. At the adoption hearing he claimed to have been indigent since that time. Former AS 20.15.050(a)(2) specifically states that indigency is a justifiable cause for failing to provide for care and support. Again, J.R.G. offered no proof rebutting R.N.T.'s contentions. While it is clear that R.N.T. has not formally complied with the judicial decree ordering him to pay child support, that failure does not necessarily place him within the exception of former AS 20.15.050(a)(2)(B). See D.L.J. v. W.D.R., 635 P.2d at 839; Matter of Adoption of K.M.M., 611 P.2d at 85-87. The statute requires that he significantly fail to provide for care and support, and any such failure must be unjustified. The prospective adoptive parent has the ultimate burden of proving these points by clear and convincing evidence. D.L.J. v. W.D.R., 635 P.2d at 838. On the present state of the record we are left to speculate whether the amount of care and support that R.N.T. provided before his arrest was minimal or substantial, since J.R.G. presented no evidence in this regard. The record reveals only that some amount of care and support was in fact provided by R.N.T. Likewise, for the period of time after R.N.T.'s arrest we have before us only his assertion that he was indigent. J.R.G. has not proven by clear and convincing evidence that an entire year passed in which R.N.T. failed significantly and without justification to provide for the care and support of his children. The superior court's finding to the contrary is clearly erroneous. The decree of adoption of the superior court is REVERSED. CONNOR, J., not participating.