Document Type
Article
Publication Date
1-1-1997
Disciplines
Family Law | Law
Abstract
In People in Interest of S.A.H., the South Dakota Supreme Court held that open adoptions, or post-adoption visitation by the natural parents, while not prohibited under South Dakota law when in the best interests of the child, should only be mandated when the trial court finds that it is in the best interests of the child by clear and convincing evidence. The court also instructed trial courts to weigh the needs of the child, the effect on integration with the new family, and the potential effect on the pool of other prospective adoptive parents. This decision, while securing judicial enforcement of consensual open adoptions, presents an inordinately difficult standard for mandating open adoptions.
Publication Title
42 South Dakota Law Review 537
Recommended Citation
Thomas E. Simmons, Note, Twisted Interests: People in Interest of S.A.H. and the State of Open Adoptions in South Dakota, 42 South Dakota Law Review 537 (1997)