In an interesting case that Seattle family lawyers have been watching carefully, a judge has ordered that a woman who returned the 7-year-old Russian boy that she had adopted back to his home country, must pay child support.
The decision was made by a judge in Tennessee, and holds that the woman is liable for child support payments in a lawsuit that was filed by her former adoption agency. In April 2010, the woman Torry Hansen was living in Tennessee, when she put her 7-year-old adopted son on a plane back to Russia. Along with the boy was a note saying that the boy had violent tendencies, and that Hansen did not want to keep him any longer. The incident played out heavily in the Russian media, and severely angered the public in that country.
https://edition.cnn.com/2012/07/13/us/adopted-child-returned/index.html
The agency that facilitated the adoption, World Association for Children and Parents filed a child support lawsuit against Hansen in Tennessee. However, Hansen allegedly failed to appear in court, and also did not respond to requests for a deposition. A judge has now ruled that she is indeed liable for child support payments.
Since that decision, Hansen has informed the court that the adoption was canceled, and that she is no longer the boy’s legal parent. Attorneys for the World Association for Children and Parents admit that the adoption of the boy has been terminated in Russia, but assert that Hansen’s obligations toward child-support still continue. If and when the child support payments are determined, the money will be sent to Russia and will be placed in a trust to be used only for the boy’s benefit.
The Seattle child support lawyers at the The Seattle Family Law Group are dedicated to the representation of persons in divorce, child support, child custody, alimony and other family law issues across Seattle.
