Maryland Adoption Court Cases

Maryland Court Case: Schwartz v. Hudgins
By its decree of 16 November 1970 the Circuit Court for Baltimore County in Equity denied the adoption of Angela Marie Houser by James F. Schwartz and Patricia Ann Schwartz, his wife. It awarded the guardianship and custody of the child to Mr. and Mrs. Schwartz with a right of visitation in the natural mother, Frances Hudgins, formerly Frances Houser, all subject to its further order. Mr. and Mrs. Schwartz appealed...


Maryland Court Case: Bernhardt v. Lutheran Social Services
This appeal arises from an Order of the Circuit Court for Montgomery County (Fairbanks, J.) denying a petition for the adoption of a biracial, Black-Chicano, illegitimate female infant, born on September 10, 1975 in Dallas, Texas. The parent-child relationship between the natural mother and the unknown father and the child was judicially terminated by decree of the Juvenile Court of Dallas County, Texas on February 6, 1976. The petitioner, appellant here, is a 41-year old, divorced woman, the biological...


Maryland Court Case: Weinschel v. Strople
We are asked in this appeal whether the natural mother of two children may consent to their adoption by the wife of her ex-husband, the father of the children, and at the same time retain the right of temporary but regular visitations. The parties, Bruno Weinschel and Sally Ann Strople, were married in 1967. Two children, Lisa Tara, age 12, and Dana Leslie, age 9, were born of that union. The marriage was "put asunder" on August 26, 1980, by a decree of the Circuit Court for Montgomery County. n1 The decree apparently followed protracted litigation in the State of Florida...


Maryland Court Case: L.F.M. v. Department of Social Services
E.M. is the paternal grandmother of the children. She and her husband, L.F.M., are the appellants. n1 They claim to have developed a warm and loving attachment to the children through a series of visits with them which began at their birth and continued through a part of the time when they were in foster care. On May 1, 1984, E.M. celebrated the children's first birthday with them at the home of their maternal grandmother. That was the last time that either of the appellants saw the children. Visitation was halted by the foster mother, who felt that visitation by both sets of grandparents...


Maryland Court Case: Hall v. Vallandingham
Adoption did not exist under the common law of England, n1 although it was in use "[a]mong the ancient peoples of Greece, Rome, Egypt and Babylonia." M. Leary and R. Weinberg, Law of Adoption (4th Ed.1979) 1; Lord Mackenzie, Studies in Roman Law, 130-34 (3rd ed. 1870); American and English Encyclopaedia of Law (1887) 204, n. 9. The primary...


Maryland Court Case: In re Adoption
John and Mary n1 planned to be married in May of 1990. Mary had a little boy, Mark, born out of wedlock in April of 1985. Mary is Catholic; John is Methodist. Their plans included a Catholic wedding and a commitment to raise Mark in the Catholic faith. Their intention was to announce the adoption to their families at the wedding so that all would know they were a family in every sense of the word. The adoption would also permit Mark to register to start school with his new name...


Maryland Court Case: Adoption/Guardianship 622
Carmela D., appellant and grandmother of two children, appeals an August 6, 1992 order of the Circuit Court for Baltimore County denying her grandparental visitation. The children, born of the marriage of Carmela's daughter, Gloria Ann J., to Jeffrey J., Sr., are Rebecca Ann J., born July 13, 1982, and Jeffrey J., Jr., born April 10, 1985. Gloria Ann died...


Maryland Court Case: Adoption/Guardianship 664
Appellant gave birth to her first child (the "child") on October 27, 1985. In November of 1988, an Order was entered in the Circuit Court for Montgomery County appointing appellees, the child's grandparents and appellant's parents, his co-guardians, with appellant's consent. This was later renewed on October 12, 1990, again with appellant's consent. The sole purpose of the guardianship was to provide the child with medical insurance under the grandparents' coverage...


Maryland Court Case: Besche v. Murphy
Appellant filed her bill of complaint in the Circuit Court No. 2 of Baltimore City on July 16, 1947. She alleged the death of Annie M. Ripple on October 19, 1946, testate, and the appointment of the defendant, appellee here, as executor. She also alleged that by the will of Annie M. Ripple, all the rest and residue of her estate was given to "those persons who under the laws of the State of Maryland would take in case of intestacy." It further appears from the bill that the testatrix was 88 years old at the time of her...


Maryland Court Case: Backus v. Reynolds
Cornelia H. Clemens was born on February 4th, 1925. Her mother, Catherine Clemens, had then been deserted by the husband, from whom she later obtained an absolute divorce. The wife was obliged to work and did not keep house, which made it necessary for her to secure some one to undertake the care and custody of the baby. In response to an advertisement she finally obtained care, board, and lodging for the child in the home of Vernon K. Reynolds and Helen Reynolds, his wife, the defendants, at the rate...


Maryland Court Case: Victory Sparkler v. Gilbert
This is an appeal from a judgment of the Circuit Court for Cecil County, reversing an order of the State Industrial Accident Commission disallowing the claim for compensation filed by the appellee, Mary Elizabeth Gilbert, the adopting mother of the deceased employee. On May 31st, 1913, the appellee, Mary Elizabeth Gilbert, and her husband, William James Gilbert, then residents of Wilmington, Del., adopted, under the laws of the State of Delaware, one John A. Fortner, at that time...


Maryland Court Case: Adoption of Lagumis
The appellant and Faith Mary Triktis (formerly Lagumis) were married on April 27, 1930. In June or July, 1932, the appellant deserted his wife and infant child, then six months old, in Baltimore and moved to New York. On October 4, 1937, over five years after she had been deserted Faith Mary Lagumis obtained a divorce a vinculo matrimonii from the appellant on the grounds of desertion and the same day was married to Dimitrios George Triktis. The mother of the infant child testified that between the time...

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