In re Adoption of I.E.H

Citations

• 2019 COA 40

Syllabus

Family Law—Stepparent Adoption—Termination of Parental Rights—Subject Matter Jurisdiction. Mother and father had a child, I.E.H., in 2008. Mother was wounded while serving in the military, and she suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder. In 2013 mother and father stipulated in father's paternity case that I.E.H. would live with father and mother would spend time with I.E.H. and pay child support to father. The juvenile court adopted the stipulation. Mother never paid any child support. In August 2016, the child's stepmother filed a petition to adopt the child and to terminate mother's parental rights. The juvenile court found that mother abandoned I.E.H. and entered a judgment terminating mother's legal relationship with the child, but did not issue an adoption decree. This appeal was filed before the adoption was finalized. As an initial matter, the Court of Appeals considered whether the juvenile court's order terminating mother's parental rights in anticipation of the stepparent adoption was final for appellate purposes, even though a final adoption decree had not been issued. CRS § 19-1-109(2)(b) governs appeals from proceedings under the Colorado Children's Code, including stepparent adoptions, and authorizes the appeal of specified termination orders that would not otherwise be final. The Court held that the order was final, and therefore appealable. On appeal, mother contended that the juvenile court did not have subject matter jurisdiction to terminate her parental rights because the court order in the paternity case allowed her to resume parental responsibilities when she was ready. A juvenile court has exclusive original jurisdiction in cases involving adoptions and cases involving the termination of parental rights. Here, the juvenile court had continuing jurisdiction over the child via the paternity proceeding. Mother also contended that the juvenile court did not make sufficient findings to support its decision that she had not provided reasonable s