Kaylee with her twin cousins Abigail & Saylor As my dad would say, Kaylee is still doesn't have any parents. Our court hearing to finalize Kaylee's adoption was on Monday. Tim and I attended court over the phone. Our attorney and our case worker were physically in court. Tim and I testified and then the judge asked our attorney some questions. The result was that Kaylee's adoption was NOT finalized due to lack of correct paperwork. Instead, court was recessed.
In the birth parents' consent to relinquish their parental rights there is supposed to be a paragraph that states the birth parent also relinquishes the right to be notified of the hearing for finalization. If this isn't included in the consent then the birth parent must be notified of the hearing. The judge asked our attorney where in the consent he could find this relinquishment or if the birth parents had been notified of the hearing. Our attorney stated that the birthparents hadn't been informed of the hearing and that he did not know if/where the consent talked about their relinquishment to be notified. After court, our case worker looked through the paperwork and pointed out to the attorney that this relinquishment was included. That was a relief, because Kaylee's birth father is unreachable and I'm not sure how we would ever find him again. Unfortunately, this wasn't the only thing wrong with the paperwork. Our attorney had crossed out some of Kaylee's birth mother's consent. There is a portion of the paperwork that states the birthmother has the right to reverse her consent by contacting the attorney, the agency, or the court before the hearing. For some reason our attorney crossed out "the court". This opened up the possibility of Kaylee's adoption being contested in the future. The judge said he wanted to make sure there weren't any holes in our adoption before he approved the finalization.
In the birth parents' consent to relinquish their parental rights there is supposed to be a paragraph that states the birth parent also relinquishes the right to be notified of the hearing for finalization. If this isn't included in the consent then the birth parent must be notified of the hearing. The judge asked our attorney where in the consent he could find this relinquishment or if the birth parents had been notified of the hearing. Our attorney stated that the birthparents hadn't been informed of the hearing and that he did not know if/where the consent talked about their relinquishment to be notified. After court, our case worker looked through the paperwork and pointed out to the attorney that this relinquishment was included. That was a relief, because Kaylee's birth father is unreachable and I'm not sure how we would ever find him again. Unfortunately, this wasn't the only thing wrong with the paperwork. Our attorney had crossed out some of Kaylee's birth mother's consent. There is a portion of the paperwork that states the birthmother has the right to reverse her consent by contacting the attorney, the agency, or the court before the hearing. For some reason our attorney crossed out "the court". This opened up the possibility of Kaylee's adoption being contested in the future. The judge said he wanted to make sure there weren't any holes in our adoption before he approved the finalization.
Kaylee in her new helmet. Needless to say, Tim and I are not very happy with our attorney. Tim and I don't have to appear in court again. Our attorney just have to fix his mistakes and present the corrected paperwork to the court. I'm a bit upset that we have to drag Kaylee's birth mother into this again. It's hard enough to sign a consent to relinquish parental rights the first time and now she has to relive that. She was a good sport about it, but I still feel like it is pretty unfair to her. As of Friday, the addendum was signed and the attorney was going to file it with the court. We'll see how things play out from here.
On Monday Kaylee got her helmet. She has plagiocephaly (flat head), so Tim and I decided since our insurance would pay for it, we might as well get a helmet for her. (She'll probably appreciate it when she's 15.) She is not fond of the helmet. She has been working up to wearing it 23 hours a day. Yesterday was the first day that she was wearing it full time. Her head gets so hot and sweaty in it. I'm sure she'll be relieved to get back to cooler Alaska.
On Monday Kaylee got her helmet. She has plagiocephaly (flat head), so Tim and I decided since our insurance would pay for it, we might as well get a helmet for her. (She'll probably appreciate it when she's 15.) She is not fond of the helmet. She has been working up to wearing it 23 hours a day. Yesterday was the first day that she was wearing it full time. Her head gets so hot and sweaty in it. I'm sure she'll be relieved to get back to cooler Alaska.
Kaylee with Grandma Joyce. On Friday, Tim and I sold our car, packed our bags, and left Rexburg. Tim's parents were kind enough to drive up to Rexburg and get us since we sold our car. We will be spending the next few days with them before we head back up to Alaska.
We have really enjoyed spending the last couple of months with family and friends. We are also excited to get back to Dillingham and move into our new apartment.
We have really enjoyed spending the last couple of months with family and friends. We are also excited to get back to Dillingham and move into our new apartment.
