Yes, the answer is yes. Once you adopt a child, you accept full parental responsibility for that child ? you cannot avoid it just because the child is adopted. Adoptions usually begin as loving expressions of love, but it is easy to see how an acrimonious divorce could lead one parent to want to un-adopt a child. The question then becomes, can un-adoption relieve a parent of child support responsibility?
A petitioner in New York is trying that exact argument but it seems like the weight of judicial precedent may be against him. In this case, the husband adopted and raised the child since he was four months old. The mother had the child from a previous relationship. But since the divorce, the adopted parent has refused to visit his adopted son, take his phone calls, and blocked his texts.
In rare circumstances, the court will reverse an adoption but only after evidence is submitted that show the relationship is fractured beyond repair. Furthermore, the court will reverse the adoption only if it is in the best interests of the child.
That is the toughest position for the petitioner to overcome. He must show that stopping child support payments is in the best interests of the child. There is probably no court in the country that could make that finding on consistent evidence.
If you are engaged in a child support dispute, you may want to speak with an attorney. As you can see, people come up with novel arguments to avoid their responsibilities. It is important to have an attorney on your side to ensure that you are prepared to confront these idiosyncratic positions.
