Kinch v. Ramsey
Kinch v. Ramsey
Opinion of the Court
The first question to be determined is whether the Probate Court had any power to make the orders which it made with respect to the adoption of Cathy Sue.
Section 8004-6, General Code (now Section 3107.06, Revised Code), reads so far as pertinent:
“No final decree or interlocutory order of adoption shall be entered by the court unless there shall be filed with the court ivritten consents to the adoption, verified or acknowledged by the following:
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“ (B) By each of the living parents * * * except as follows:
“ (1) The mother of an illegitimate child shall be considered * * * the sole parent and may give consent alone * * *
“(2) The consent of a parent shall not be required if the child is in the permanent custody of the Division of Social Administration, a county welfare department, a county child welfare board, or a certified organization.
“ (3) If a parent has been adjudged incompetent by reason of mental disability * * *
“ (4) If it is alleged in the petition that one or both of the parents have wilfully failed to properly support and maintain the child for a period of more than tivo years immediately preceding the filing of the petition, the court shall cause notice of the filing of said petition and the allegations of such failure to be given such parent or parents as provided in Section 10501-21 of the General Court. After such notice has been given, the Probate Court shall determine the issue as to such failure to*570 properly support and maintain the child. The consent of a parent found by the Probate Court to have wilfully failed to properly support and maintain the child for such period shall not be required.
“ (5) If the parents are dead or their place of residence is unknown and cannot with reasonable diligence be ascertained or there is no guardian of the person of such child, the consent may be given by the next friend.
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“(D) By any division, county department, or board, or certified organization, having the permanent custody of the child. « * #
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“No final decree or interlocutory order of adoption shall be entered with respect to any child in the custody of the Juvenile Court or concerning whose custody or disposition proceedings are pending in such court until such custody or proceedings have been suspended or terminated by such court.” (Emphasis added.)
The findings of fact affirmatively establish that no consent to the adoption was given by petitioner, a living parent of Cathy Sue, as required by subdivision (B) of the foregoing statute; and that none of the exceptions to that requirement, which are specified in that subdivision, were applicable. In view of the absence of any. bill of exceptions, it is impossible to know exactly what the record of the Probate Court in the adoption proceeding showed or whether that record and any presumption with respect to the regularity thereof would support a conclusion of compliance with such subdivision (B) of the statute. See 1 American Jurisprudence, 675, 676, Section 78; 2 Corpus Juris Secundum, 440 et seq., Sections 50, 51.
This court has held that “a Juvenile Court is without jurisdiction to make permanent a temporary commitment of a dependent or delinquent child unless notice of the time and place of the hearing upon such matter is served on the parent or guardian of such child * * * as provided and directed by” statute. In re Frinzl, a Minor (paragraph one of the syllabus), 152 Ohio St., 164, 87 N. E. (2d), 583. In that case, it was held that an attack upon such “an order for permanent custody” by a habeas
So far as the rights of a parent with respect to a child are concerned, a decree of adoption of such child by someone else is as serious in every respect and its consequences are much more serious than a court order merely granting .permanent custody of such child to someone else. Thus, by a valid final decree of adoption, the parent is “divested of all legal rights and obligations due * * * from” the child and the child is made “free from all legal obligations of obedience or otherwise to” such parent. Section 8004-13, General Code (now Section 3107.13, Revised Code).
Therefore, it would necessarily seem to follow that compliance with the specific requirements of Section 8004-6, General Code, with respect to consents of parents, should be necessary to give a court jurisdiction to render a decree or order of adoption ; and that such an order made without compliance therewith could be successfully attacked as void in a habeas corpus proceeding. See 1 American Jurisprudence, 674, 675, Section 77.
Apparently, the Ramseys contend that the consents of parents required by Section 8004-6, General Code, were not necessary in the instant case because the Juvenile Court had previously determined that Cathy Sue was a “neglected child” and such court had therefore obtained “exclusive original jurisdiction” over her. In support of this contention, the Ramseys rely upon that portion of Section 1639-16, General Code (now Section 2151.23, Revised Code), which reads:
“(a) The [juvenile] court shall have exclusive original jurisdiction under this chapter or under other provisions of the General Code:
“1. Concerning any child who is (1) delinquent, (2) neglected, (3) dependent, crippled, or otherwise physically handicapped. ’ ’
It is apparent therefore that the General Assembly contemplated that a Juvenile Court might have previously determined that a child being adopted was “delinquent, neglected, or dependent” and still not have awarded permanent custody as contemplated by subdivision B (2) of Section 8004-6. Notwithstanding that it is apparent that the General Assembly contemplated such a possibility, it made no provision for dispensing-in such an instance with the consents of parents required by Section 8004-6, General Code. It is apparent therefore that, by what it has said, the General Assembly has negatived any intention to dispense with the requirements of Section 8004-6, General Code, with respect to filing consents of parents merely because the child being adopted has been determined by the Juvenile Court to be “delinquent, neglected, or dependent.”
The only error assigned by the Ramseys in this court is that the Probate Court erred “in vacating and setting aside its former order * * * whereby Cathy Sue # * * was adopted by” the Ramseys. However, this “court, in its discretion, may consider and decide errors which are not assigned or specified.” Section 2505.21, Revised Code (formerly Section 12223-21, General Code).
It may be effectively contended that, even if the decree providing- for adoption of Cathy Sue is void, the Ramseys had the right to her custody by reason of the November 14, 1952, and December 8, 1952, orders of the Juvenile Court finding- that she was a neglected child and committing her to the permanent custody of the Ramseys. See In re Frinzl, supra (152 Ohio St., 164), 178.
It follows that the judgment of the Court of Appeals must be affirmed.
Judgment affirmed.
Case-law data current through December 31, 2025. Source: CourtListener bulk data.