## Facts

- Two minor children, J.M.D. and K.N.D., lived with their biological mother and biological father.
- The father was abusive; the children witnessed him kill their preschool-aged stepsister (the mother’s child from another relationship).
- The mother divorced the father; a court ordered him to pay child support, later reduced to $5 per month due to his incarceration and minimal prison wages.
- The mother and children moved to Kansas, and the mother later married the stepfather.
- The stepfather, with the mother’s consent, petitioned to adopt the children without the father’s consent.
- Evidence showed the father maintained some contact with the children but failed to provide support to the best of his financial ability, including by concealing non-prison income.
- The district court terminated the father’s parental rights within the adoption proceeding and granted the stepparent adoption.

## Issues

1. Whether the need for a natural parent’s consent to a stepparent adoption is governed by K.S.A. 2010 Supp. 59-2136(d), independent of the termination provisions in K.S.A. 2010 Supp. 59-2136(h).
2. Whether the father “failed or refused to assume the duties of a parent” for the two consecutive years preceding the adoption petition, such that his consent was not required under K.S.A. 2010 Supp. 59-2136(d).
3. Whether a best-interests determination can override the statutory requirement of parental consent when the parent has assumed parental duties.

## Decision

- The Kansas Supreme Court reversed the Court of Appeals and affirmed the district court.
- The Court held that K.S.A. 2010 Supp. 59-2136(d) controls whether consent is required for a stepparent adoption, and that inquiry is not altered by K.S.A. 2010 Supp. 59-2136(h).
- The Court held substantial competent evidence supported the district court’s finding that the father failed to assume the parental duty of providing for the children’s needs during the two years immediately preceding the petition, because he did not support them to the best of his financial ability.
- The Court reaffirmed that best interests cannot dispense with a natural parent’s consent unless the statutory exception for non-assumption of parental duties (or incapacity to consent) is satisfied.

## Legal Principles

- Under K.S.A. 2010 Supp. 59-2136(d), a natural parent’s consent to a stepparent adoption is required unless the court finds the parent (a) failed or refused to assume the duties of a parent for the two consecutive years immediately preceding the filing of the petition, or (b) is incapable of giving consent.
- The “duties of a parent” include multiple responsibilities; the court may consider all relevant duties and surrounding circumstances in deciding whether the statutory standard is met.
- Failure to provide support to the best of the parent’s financial ability for the relevant two-year period supports a finding that the parent failed to assume parental duties.
- Appellate review does not permit reweighing evidence; trial-court findings supported by substantial competent evidence must be upheld.
- A child’s best interests do not override the statutory consent requirement when the natural parent has assumed parental duties.

## Conclusion

The Kansas Supreme Court held that parental consent in a stepparent adoption is controlled by K.S.A. 59-2136(d) and affirmed the adoption because substantial competent evidence showed the incarcerated father failed to assume parental duties—particularly meaningful financial support to the best of his ability—during the two years before the petition, making his consent unnecessary.


In re Adoption of J.M.D. & K.N.D., 293 Kan. 153, 260 P.3d 1196 (Kan. 2011)