In the Matter of the Adoption of L.B.L.

Summary

The Oklahoma Supreme Court reviewed an adoption of L.B.L. without the mother's consent. It held that the mother's failure to support the child was not willful because a guardianship order held support payments in abeyance, but that clear and convincing evidence established her failure to maintain a substantial and positive relationship with the child and that adoption was in the child's best interests. The court vacated the Court of Civil Appeals opinion, affirmed the trial court, and remanded for further proceedings.

Holdings

1. Pollard's failure to pay child support was not willful because she complied with a guardianship court order that held support in abeyance and temporarily relieved her of the immediate obligation to pay.
2. A custodian's refusal of visitation does not automatically establish that the parent was denied the opportunity to establish or maintain a substantial and positive relationship. The court must examine why contact was denied and whether the parent's conduct or choices contributed to the denial or harmed the child.
3. Clear and convincing evidence supported the conclusion that adoption without Pollard's consent was in the child's best interests.

Questions Presented

1. Whether Pollard's failure to contribute to the child's support was willful when a guardianship court had held child support in abeyance.
2. Whether the guardians' refusal of visitation established a denial-of-opportunity defense to Pollard's failure to establish or maintain a substantial and positive relationship with the child.
3. Whether adoption without Pollard's consent was supported by clear and convincing evidence and was in the child's best interests.

Disposition

reversed_and_remanded