2019 COA 40
Colo. Ct. App.2019Background
- Child born 2008 to J.H. (mother) and J.D.S. (father); mother was initially primary caregiver but child lived full-time with father from 2013 under a paternity-case stipulation that mother would have parenting time when stable and would pay child support.
- Mother suffered military injuries and PTSD, sporadic housing and income; she made minimal child-support payments ($125 in the 12 months before adoption petition; a few later payments).
- In August 2016 the child’s stepmother (E.R.S.) filed a stepparent adoption petition seeking termination of mother’s parental rights; the juvenile court held multi-day hearings and found abandonment and failure to provide reasonable support.
- The juvenile court entered an order terminating mother’s parental rights and authorizing adoption but deferred entry of the final adoption decree pending resolution of any appeal.
- Mother appealed; the Court of Appeals first held the termination order was final and appealable under § 19-1-109(2)(b), then addressed jurisdiction, preservation, ineffective-assistance, sufficiency of findings on support, and abandonment.
Issues
| Issue | Plaintiff's Argument (Mother) | Defendant's Argument (Stepmother) | Held |
|---|---|---|---|
| Finality of termination order | Order not final until adoption decree; appeal premature | § 19-1-109(2)(b) makes termination orders final and appealable | Order terminating parental rights is final and appealable |
| Juvenile-court jurisdiction to decide adoption | Juvenile court lacked jurisdiction because paternity case allowed mother to resume parental responsibilities | Juvenile court has exclusive original jurisdiction over adoptions/termination under § 19-1-104(1) and had continuing jurisdiction via paternity case but still proper to hear adoption | Juvenile court had subject-matter jurisdiction to terminate parental rights in adoption case |
| Constitutional challenges to stepparent-adoption scheme | Statutes violate liberty, due process, equal protection; demand higher burdens and criminal-type protections | Mother failed to raise these issues below; civil plain-error/structural-error doctrines do not warrant review | Constitutional challenges not addressed on appeal due to lack of preservation; structural-error analysis not applied in civil adoption context |
| Sufficiency of findings re: reasonable support and abandonment | Court failed to identify reasonable support amount, miscredited efforts, and lacked evidence of intent to abandon | Record shows minimal support in 12 months before petition, evidence bearing on likelihood of future support, and separate factual basis for abandonment | Findings sufficient: mother failed without cause to provide reasonable support and evidence supported abandonment; termination affirmed |
Key Cases Cited
- People in Interest of S.M.O., 931 P.2d 572 (Colo. App. 1996) (discussed prior rule that adoption decree traditionally marked finality for appeals)
- People in Interest of R.S., 2018 CO 31 (Colo. 2018) (interpreting § 19-1-109(1) and (2)(b) regarding appealability of termination orders)
- D.P.H. v. J.L.B., 260 P.3d 320 (Colo. 2011) (juvenile court jurisdiction over adoption despite related district-court parenting-time matters)
- In re D.I.S., 249 P.3d 775 (Colo. 2011) (discussing fit-parent presumption in guardianship-termination context; distinguished on jurisdictional grounds)
- E.R.S. v. O.D.A., 779 P.2d 844 (Colo. 1989) (Colorado prioritizes child’s best interests in stepparent adoption/termination analysis)
- In re R.H.N., 710 P.2d 482 (Colo. 1985) (twelve-month lookback for reasonable support standard and post-period likelihood factors)