Eddie Dorris, et al vs. Jeffery Crisp

Over four months after signing a surrender of her parental rights and consent for her minor child to be adopted, Appellee filed a Petition to Set Aside Surrender on the basis of a procedural defect. The Chancellor held that Appellee had abandoned the child, that the surrender executed by Appellee on June 24, 1999 should be set aside because there was no home study performed prior to the surrender, and dismissed the petitions for adoption. The Chancellor ordered the child returned to the custody of Appellee, which order was stayed by this Court September 19, 2000. The adoptive parents appeal raising the following issues for consideration: (1) Whether the mother has standing to attack the surrender on the basis of a lack of a home study, (2) whether the surrender is valid, and (3) whether the trial court was limited to the criteria set forth in Tennessee Code Annotated section 36-1-113(h) in determining whether termination of parental rights was in the child's best interests. We reverse and find the surrender valid.