Child's Legal Father, a Sex Offender, and Grandmother Fight for Custody

August 27, 2011

Case is Complicated by Biological Father, Who Also Now Wants Custody of Young Girl

Child custody issues are possibly some of the most contentious cases in family law. As couples dissolve relationships, conflict over influence and contact with their adopted, step and biological children can become a new battleground. A prime example is the case of little Miranda Wilkerson, where the battle is between Miranda's grandmother and her legal father, who is a registered sex offender, and her biological father, who was not married to Miranda's mother at the time of birth.

In July 2011, a Baker County Judge awarded Donald Coleman legal custody of soon-to-be four year-old Miranda. As a result, Miranda was removed from the home of her grandmother, Rita Manning, who has raised her since the death of her mother. Many have criticized the judge so far in this case, but based on the procedural posture of the case at the time and the current state of the law, which as a trial judge he is bound to follow even if he disagrees with it, the judge likely had no choice.

When Miranda came into the world, in 2007, her young mother Trista Crews was still married to Donald Coleman. Coleman and Crews had been involved in a relationship when Crews was a minor of 14 years and Coleman was 38. Coleman was placed on the sex offender registry as a result of his relationship with Crews, who eventually became pregnant with his child. They married in 1997. Manning gave her consent for the two to marry. Coleman and Crews had three children together, but eventually separated. As part of his divorce filing, Coleman alleged that Crews was pregnant by another man. Before the divorce was finalized, Miranda was born and Crews died in a car wreck about one month after Miranda's birth.

Under Florida law, the "presumption of legitimacy" presumes the husband is the father of any child born to his wife during the marriage, regardless whether he is the biological father. Such husband is the "legal father," even if in reality he is not the biological father. While such a law may seem unjust when applied to certain situations such as this one, it is based on the strong public policy of protecting the welfare of the children. While the state recognizes other laws regarding parentage and paternity, this presumption gives the husband rights to visitation and custody..

Regardless of legal presumptions about paternity, most states recognize a legal parent's rights as being superior to those of grandparents on issues of visitation and custody. The United States Supreme Court has ruled in the past that grandparents have no true visitation or custodial rights given by the U.S. Constitution. Instead, individual state laws govern grandparents' rights. In Florida, grandparent visitation statutes have been held unconstitutional and weakened by state court rulings, which generally grants contact depending on the will of the legal parent. With this legal reality against her, Manning lost custody of Miranda.

The child's biological father, who is James Wilkerson, is also now entering the dispute. On August 10, 2011 he filed a motion to establish himself as the child's father, which is a precursor to establishing custody. In response, Donald Coleman filed a motion to prevent Wilkerson from establishing his parental rights. Under certain limited circumstances, the presumption of legitimacy can be trumped by the true biological father, but generally the true biological father has no standing to assert his paternity when the mother and legal father object or when the biological father has not developed a relationship with the child or demonstrated a substantial concern for the welfare of the child. The fact that the legal father Donald Coleman is objecting and the fact that Wilkerson may have never established a prior relationship or demonstrated substantial prior concern for the child are likely large hurdles Wilkerson will have to overcome.

In addition, Rita Manning has filed an appeal of the decision to grant Coleman custody of Miranda. It remains to be seen whether Miranda's legal father, biological father or maternal grandmother will ultimately retain custody.

If you are involved in a custody or visitation dispute, contact a family law attorney to discuss your options.

Article provided by Curtis R Cowan PA
Visit us at www.curtcowanlaw.com