Domestic New York Adoption: Ends Justifying Means

From New York, The Manhattan Surrogate Court will be hearing the case of Vilma Ramirez, who is seeking her child Esperanza back from  Andrew and Kelley Grant.

“The couple, Andrew and Kelley Grant, had been in the process of adopting baby Esperanza from Vilma Ramirez, and the process had entered a 45-day window that allowed Vilma to change her mind, when on Jan. 9, Andrew swooped in “while I was at work and convinced the Mirarchis, who were taking care of Esperanza, that he needed to take the child now,”
“Ramirez, a 35-year-old cook from El Salvador with little command of English who lives in Brentwood, LI, was pregnant with Esperanza, her fourth child, when a trusted friend, Blanca Mirarchi, convinced her adoption was her best option. At the same time, the Grants badly wanted a child.

The 45-year-old software designer and his ad-exec wife, 37, had a solid marriage, enjoyed living in their $950,000 East 83rd Street co-op, and could afford the $30,000 or more in costs that a domestic adoption can incur.”

“On Dec. 23, Ramirez signed away her guardianship of Esperanza — though she says she thought she was agreeing to an open adoption, allowing her continued contact with the child.

Esperanza’s adoption was “extrajudicial” — a legal deal in which the biological parent signs over consent without a judge present, but has 45 days to change the decision. If the parent opts to revoke consent, a judge decides what’s best for the child.”

Long Island Mom Wants Adopted Baby Back
[New York Post 3/20/11 by Kathianne Boniello]

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