Q: How can I gain custody or visitation for my daughter in Alabama after losing custody?
When my daughter was one year old, I lost custody while I was in prison due to a drug problem. A family promised to return her but used their connections in DHR to gain custody while I couldn't attend court. My daughter, now 14, contacted me, and we communicate daily. There have been no custody orders issued in nearly ten years. She was removed from her adoptive parents due to allegations, and DHR was involved. I've kept informed about the situation through a family member of the adoptive family. My daughter wants to be part of my life. I have over 8 years of sobriety, with documented rehabilitation, and I am now a recovery pastor and a college student about to work in a detox facility. Is there any legal action I can take to gain visitation rights or custody, especially considering her wishes and my stable rehabilitation progress?
A: A lot to unwrap here and as anyone else will tell you it is probably best to sit down with an attorney and due a real fact based analysis with ALL of the facts as no matter how much your write here all relevant facts are seldom fully disclosed. If you still have parental rights and those rights were not terminated then you can file a petition in the original case seeking to establish visitation rights. If your rights have been terminated which would be required for an adoption then you have no legal rights to visitation and therefore what you get, if anything, will be at the mercy of the current custodians or adoptive parents. If she was in fact adopted as your fact pattern seems to suggest it doesn't matter if she was eventually removed from the home of the adoptive parents as well because to be adopted in the first place your rights would have to be terminated. The first order of business will be to determine the status of your parental rights. As long as your rights have not been terminated you can seek visitation.
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