From Deseret News archives:
Adoption turns into nightmare
Birth father contests it; baby boy may be sent back to N. Idaho
But they haven't even begun purchasing any gifts for their 5 1/2-month-old boy. Besides spending their $25,000 savings on a custody battle, the Nielsons said, they may actually be facing the holiday alone if Harvey is sent back to his birth parents in Idaho.
"We don't want to just hand him back," Cally Nielson said. "How could anyone hand their baby back?"
What began as a dream-come-true for the couple has quickly turned into a never-ending nightmare of courtrooms and contention.
Since learning the birth father wants custody, the Nielsons have hired two attorneys, one in Idaho and one in Utah. The couple has traveled the 12-hour-long 700-mile trip four times to Coeur d'Alene, Idaho, for court proceedings.
The nightmare began just two weeks after Jed, 26, and Cally, 24, brought Harvey home from Idaho in July. LDS Family Services informed the Nielsons that the birth father was contesting the adoption.
The Nielsons say Kootenai County District Court ruled the birth father still has parental rights, but they are continuing their court battle.
Knight says she and the birth father, Matt Tennyson, 20, of Coeur d'Alene, dated off and on during her sophomore and junior years of high school but their relationship became strained by her senior year.
The teen said she hadn't been in regular contact with Tennyson since the last couple months of her pregnancy.
Tennyson's mother returned a phone call from the Deseret Morning News Thursday evening. She said the family declined to comment until they have spoken to their attorney.
Phone calls to LDS Family Services were not immediately returned.
Knight said the judge is now just taking testimony and gathering information. She believes it could end up in a joint custody arrangement between her and the birth father where one parent has the baby during the week and the other parent has him on the weekends.
Meanwhile, the Nielsons can only sit and wait.
"We have zero rights. We're just guardians of Harvey. That is all," said Jed Nielson.
Recent comments
The father certainly didn't seem all that interested in the baby...
anon | Dec. 24, 2007 at 5:12 p.m.
The natural father deserves to have his child- it is his child!
Kaydia | Dec. 20, 2007 at 12:22 p.m.
The father has every right to raise his child. He should not lose...
Scott | Dec. 18, 2007 at 12:33 a.m.
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