Legal hurdle halts ‘dad’ in adoption act

Trial Notebook

By Steven P. Garmisa

Hoey & Farina

Posted April 27, 2015 3:04 PM

Before the romantic relationship between James “Jim” R.D. and his fiancee Maria Z. fizzled, she adopted a 5–year–old orphan in Slovakia and brought the child, Scarlett Z.–D., to live with her and Jim in Elmhurst.Four years later, Maria moved out with Scarlett.Petitioning for a declaration of parental rights, Jim — who admitted he didn’t have statutory standing under Illinois law — invoked “functional parent theories,” which the Illinois Supreme Court described as …

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