Just a question

It was mentioned in the "smack Will" thread (several times) that EJ needs to let Rafe adopt his children. (or give his permission, something like that). My question is, if EJ gave up ALL parental rights, does he have to give his permission for them to be adopted?

No he doesn't have to give permission. But Rafe would have to remove his head from Carrie's butt long enough to think about the kids.

But please, in the magical land of Salem, they'd not only need EJ's permission, but Stefano's too, along with their DNA, fingerprints and EJ's kindergarten teacher's permission, along with a provision that Stefano and EJ can come to the Hernandez/Brady loft twice a week for family dinners and games of Boggle! LOL

EJ would probably throw himself into Salem Harbor (there's a thought) before letting Rafe adopt his children. It's true he did "give up all rights to his children," but it was never indicated whether a court actually terminated his parental rights. Absent that, state courts require a written, witnessed, and notarized document from the consenting parent.

The inconsistencies are interesting.

i when ej told sami she isnt generous with the time she allows him and the kids. hello, you gave them up. sami didnt take them, you handed them over and obviously have put forth no legal action to get them back. thats on you

Regardless of what EJ filed, there subsequently had to be a court order terminating his parental rights in order Rafe to adopt Johnny and Sydney. This is spelled out in the Model Juvenile Court Act: "An order terminating the parental rights of a parent terminates all his rights and obligations with respect to the child and of the child to him arising from the parental relationship. The parent is not thereafter entitled to notice of proceedings for the adoption of the child by another nor has he any right to object to the adoption or otherwise to participate in the proceedings." If the writers ever did a little reseach, they could have tied up the loose ends on this issue.

The writers do research before writing a story?? LOL that's a good one!

Where do they research? Because I see errors in my memory of days history!

It isn't clear to me whether EJ actually relinquished all parental rights or if he just gave full custody to Sami. There is a HUGE difference. If he truly relinquished all rights then he has absolutely no say as to whether or not their step father adopts them. And he cannot go back to court and ask for a do-over. On the other hand, if he gave Sami full "custody" he is still their legal father and he has a right to go back to court and ask for a change in the custody order if the circumstances have changed.
I think I have heard the characters make reference to "custody" and to "parental rights" and I wonder if the writers are really clear in their own minds what they intended here.

They research The Salem Guide To Legal Loopholes. Ya know the one they constantly write bs in.

I did a little research and found the video from 7-20-11 where Ej gives FULL CUSTODY to Sami. He does not relinquish his parental rights. That being said, Rafe CANNOT adopt the kids unless EJ doesn't protest (ya right) or if a judge finds in his favor, which would be very hard to do since EJ seems to own all legal personnel in Salem. Because EJ gave Sami full custody and didn't include visitation, he is at Sami's mercy to see the children. However, because the custody agreement was not forced by a judge or drafted by the DA, EJ can petition the court to get his visitation rights/joint custody back. At this point, Rafe has no more right to the kids than Nicole. In the eyes of the law, EJ is Johnny and Syndey's LEGAL father. Had he relinquished his rights, that would be a different story. Unfortunately, writers do not do their research and should NOT be writing Sami to say "you gave up your rights to my children!" He did not, he gave up custody.

That being said, he still had no right to see Syd on her birthday without Sami's permission. However, the argument that he is nothing to his children in the eyes of the law is baseless. He is still legally their father, just not entitled to any rights as far as custody or visitation.

I have pasted the video, it's about at the 11:30 mark.

Yes, that is exactly what I thought. Thank you.

Great research, DaysDarling!

Thanks.

EJ pull something? Now that's the Rafe I know.........smart!

@ Poirot ~ THANKS! Ah, but I wonder if the writers understand the difference between "custody" and "parental rights". Both terms were used in the dialog -- and they seemed to be used interchangeably. If he really did give up ALL rights then he is out of the picture. Period.

In the dialog Poirot provided, there are so many contradicting statements. Rafe says EJ gave up his rights, while EJ tells Rafe, and Justin tells Rafe that Sami has sole/full custody. This is why the viewers are confused at every new storyline!!!

You know, medical drama's like House have medical staff who correspond with the writing team, as do legal shows like Law and Order. Perhaps Days, no matter how small the budget, should have such correspondents who can read over the scripts, so they don't look like idiots when the viewers say, "What!?! How does someone have a heart transplant and be up fine the next day, with no scars!!!"

That being said, I think EJ gave sole custody of the kids to Sami. From what my cousin was told when he was trying to give up rights to his daughter to get out of paying child support (ya, he's an idiot!), a father who signed the birth certificate can only relinquish rights if the spouse of the mother is willing to adopt the child. Otherwise, he could give up custody, not legal "parental" responsibility.

So perhaps the correct statement is EJ gave up his custody, but not his parental responsibility? Sami herself said she didn't want to ask EJ for child support, and if Elvis had given up his parental rights, he would have no financial responsibility to the children as he would legally no longer be their father.