Asked in Family Law and Adoption for Alaska

Q: Grandmother adopted children from OCS can mother live there after her parental rights were terminated

The mother was deemed an unfit parent and parental rights were terminated by OCS. Grandmother adopted the two of the children who now live with her. The mother was allowed 2 days of visitation a week but it had to be supervised my grandmother. The mother has been living with her mother for the past month and a half. Is this legal?

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Stefan Otterson
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Answered
  • Family Law Lawyer
  • Anchorage, AK
  • Licensed in Alaska

A: As the adoptive parent, the grandmother has the legal right to make all decisions for the child, including who is around the child. So the unfit bio mother being there is not in itself a problem. However, like all parents, the grandmother could lose her parental rights just like the mother did. If she leaves the child unsupervised with the bio mother and something bad happens, then OCS will have good reason to take action, including possible removal of the child from the grandmother/adoptive mother's care. Depending on how bad the bio mother's troubles were, just leaving the child with her unsupervised might, in itself, be considered too risky. If a report were filed with OCS, and their investigation found the child had been harmed or exposed to unreasonable risk of harm, they could open a new Child In Need of Aid case.

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