Judge Upholds Child Support in Russian Adoption Send-Back

A Tennessee woman last year ended her adoption of a 7-year-old Russian boy by sending him on a plane home to Moscow by himself. She merely determined that she didn’t want to keep the child, and hoped to send him back to the orphanage that he came from. When the instance was discovered, the adoption agency that the woman had used sued her for child support.

They believe that she, as the adoptive mother, should not be required to support her child through life- whether or not she wants to. The mother sent her child back to Moscow with a note saying that he had “violent behavioral problems” and that she didn’t want to deal with the issues anymore. While the state could have filed criminal charges for child abuse, they chose not to. Instead, they simply decided to press the issues for child support payments.

The once-mother moved from Tennessee to California, and then avoided all court appointments by refusing to respond to the summons. She also went through a string of family law attorneys in an attempt to fight the child support lawsuit. Eventually, the court forced her to pay $150,000 in child support. She appealed the first ruling, saying that her former attorney had encouraged her to avoid coming to court and had to avoid some of the appointment dates due to the birth of her daughter. The mother claim that her former-son threatened to burn their house down, and was incredibly violent.

The child had allegedly said he intended to kill his mother and aunt. While her actions were considered negligent and abusive in the Russian Court, the mother was able to avoid criminal prosecution. If you are involved in a similar adoption case, then talk to a lawyer at our firm. We deal with various aspects of family law, and can help you to work through your adoption case.