B.F. v. C.D. and A.D.

Summary

The Alabama Court of Civil Appeals affirmed a juvenile court judgment denying a biological father's request for custody of his child. Applying the Alabama Supreme Court's newly announced standard, the court held that the father voluntarily forfeited his presumptive custodial rights by failing to act after he knew or should have known of his paternity, making the Ex parte McLendon standard applicable.

Holdings

1. The evidence supported the juvenile court's finding that B.F. knew or should have known around the time of the child's birth that he was the child's father and voluntarily forfeited his custodial rights by failing to avail himself of those rights.
2. Because B.F. voluntarily forfeited his prima facie custodial right, the Ex parte Terry parental presumption did not apply, and the juvenile court properly applied the Ex parte McLendon standard.

Questions Presented

1. Whether the evidence supported the juvenile court's finding that B.F. knew or should have known that he was the child's father and voluntarily forfeited his presumptive right to custody.
2. Whether the juvenile court properly applied the Ex parte McLendon standard rather than the Ex parte Terry parental-presumption standard.

Disposition

affirmed