[morpheus]

Hello,
My wife and I were recently confronted with a terrible situation in Guatamala. Our baby was supposed to be through PGN at this point, but, right now we are stymied.

Background:
The baby was in a home legally with all the proper papers, but, the home was shut down as a result of another baby being cared for on the premises without legal paperwork. This came as a shock to our lawyer in Gautamala who never saw a second baby on visits.

As a result the government shut down the home and put the baby we wish to adopt in an orphanage. This kicks the case down to minor PGN. Subsequently the judge ruled against the adoption because "he doesnt like americans"...the words of our lawyer in Guatamala. An appeal date has been set for some unreasonably long time in the future at which point there is still no guarantee of success.

My initial reaction is to hire a top notch lawyer in Guatamala circumnavigating our US adoption agencies legal team. Hopefully the new lawyer could find a judge who deals in legal terms not...whatever idiotic junk drives his pee brain.

Does anyone have any experience related to a situation like this? Or; suggestions regarding proven approaches?

[BrandyHagz]

I moved this thread to the Guatemala Forum - so you could get some feedback from these members.

Please remember that all agency/hogar discussion must be done via Private Message - so ask about specifics that way please

[Devora]

I'm sorry that you're dealing with what is obviously a complicated and emotionally difficult situation.

As a result the government shut down the home and put the baby we wish to adopt in an orphanage. This kicks the case down to minor PGN.

Can you clarify this? The only reason a case is in the minor's division of PGN is if the relinquishing parent is a minor. In this case, it would have been in the minor's division all along.

If this is what you've been told by your agency, that the relocation of the child to an orphanage has moved the case to the minor's division, then you need to go back and ask for clarification because this does not make sense. I'm not saying they've misled you, but you need to ask for verification on the parent's age. If this is an infant relinquishment then they should be able (if they didn't at time of referral) to provide you with a copy of the child's birth certificate which will list the mother's age.

The attorney you were working with who was providing the foster care is the legal guardian of the child in-between relinquishment and the adoption being finalized. I have heard of other cases where something happened and a child was taken into government custody (similar to this situation) and placed in an orphanage. In those cases the attorney's guardianship was vacated/terminated. This is another question you should be asking so you know whether or not the referring attorney still has guardianship of the child.

If the attorney does not have guardianship then this will probably no long be considered a relinquishment case because the attorney to whom the child was relinquished would no longer have any legal standing. If this is so, then it may be handled as an abandonment case. Receiving an abandonment decree (which would be required before anything on the adoption can move forward) usually takes as much as 1-2 years.

Subsequently the judge ruled against the adoption because "he doesnt like americans"...the words of our lawyer in Guatamala.

I would also ask your agency/attorney for a clarification on this. What judge was this and what was the judge ruling on? It couldn't have been the adoption -- those are approved by the director of PGN. If it was the abandonment decree then unless this occurred many months ago I can't imagine that it's already gone before a judge given the fact that abandonment decrees typically take up to 1-2 years.

It sounds like you need to get a lot more specific information and documentation from the agency before you can decide what to do.

I hope this gives you at least some sense of what to ask from here.

Devora

[Mandy4President]

Can you clarify this? The only reason a case is in the minor's division of PGN is if the relinquishing parent is a minor. In this case, it would have been in the minor's division all along.

[/quote]

That's not exactly true, from what I understand. There have been others in minors for investigations into their cases that had nothing to do with a minor mother. They tried to send us there (no minor bmom) and our lawyer filed something against it that got it out because they literally had no reason to send us.

[Devora]

You're right, Mandy -- I should have chosen my words a little more carefully. Typically if the relinquishing parent is not a minor and a case ends up in the minor's division it's because they're filling in to help with investigations. Perhaps there are other reasons, but it is very unusual.

[maccafan]

According to my agency, all abandonment cases (as opposed to relinquishment cases) go through minors court. But I don't know if this is the Morpheus's situation.