Case Law Development: Adoption of Parent Does Not Sever Grandparent's Ties to Grandchildren

The Indiana Court of Appeals held that if a parent is adopted, that adoption does not sever the grandparent's ties to the parent's children.  In this case, grandmother had been granted visitation rights to mother's child.  Thereafter, mother, who was 22 years old, was adopted by cousins.  Mother then sought to terminate the grandmother's visitation rights arguing that the grandmother was no longer the child's grandmother by virtue of that adoption.  Mother did not further argue that visitation was not in the child's best interests.

The court concluded that "The mother's decision to legally sever ties with the grandmother did not automatically and for purposes of the Grandparent Visitation Act sever all of the grandmother's ties with her biological grandson."

Handshoe v. Ridgway (In re J.E.M.), 2007 Ind. App. LEXIS 1657  (July 23, 2007)
Opinion online (last visited August 1, 2007 bgf)