A Florida man is fighting for custody of his daughter, whom he has never met, after he claims the child’s mother put her up for adoption while telling her the baby had died.
Brandon Marteliz has been in a legal battle to be in his daughter Amiya’s life since she was born two years ago, when he says the baby’s mother decided to cut ties with him and hide the baby.
“I was told that my daughter died,” Marteliz told WFTS, claiming the mother said their daughter died of sudden infant death syndrome shortly after her birth in January 2022.
Marteliz said he was heartbroken because he had just been with the woman, even posing together with his hand on her pregnant belly, two days before the baby’s birth.
The father had texted the woman the day before the birth asking if she was going to the hospital, but he never got a reply.
A day after giving birth, the woman agreed to her child’s adoption, naming Marteliz as “a man who may have an interest in the young child,” according to ABC Action News, citing court documents.
Because the adoption was authorized by the mother, Marteliz should not be granted custody of the child, the adoption agency said, arguing that the father did not “pay a fair and reasonable amount of subsistence and medical expenses” related to the pregnancy and birth.
Brandon Marteliz poses with his baby mama, days before their daughter was born, as she fights for custody of her daughter, now almost 2. ABC Action News Baby Amiya was put up for adoption by her mother after her birth, without her father’s knowledge or consent. Brandon Marteliz / Facebook
Almost three weeks after being told her son had died, the baby’s mother texted him saying “I got him” and “I got the baby.”
Marteliz told the outlet she pleaded with the mother to see her son, but her request went unanswered.
Instead, she was contacted by a Child Protective Services agent, who informed her that there was a newborn baby girl who was alive and being cared for by an adoption agency.
“I thought, ‘OK, I’m her father, I’m her father, I can take a test, I can prove I’m her father, my daughter is still alive,'” said Marteliz.
Marteliz held back tears as she showed off the bedroom she created for her daughter. ABC Action News
Marteliz is ready to welcome her first child, who will be 2 in January, after buying her toys and clothes and setting up a special bedroom for her.
“I have books for her, some toys, lots of clothes. I’m getting ready to give them away because I know they won’t fit her anymore,” said the heartbroken father.
As Marteliz’s fight enters its third year, the prospective adoptive parents have custody of her daughter through a private adoption agency based in Florida.
Marteliz denied knowing about the woman’s plan to put her daughter up for adoption in May 2021.
Marteliz is ready to welcome her first child, who will be 2 in January, after buying her toys and clothes and setting up a special bedroom for her. ABC Action News
The mother and the adoption agency did not have to request to terminate Marteliz’s parental rights because the child’s parents were never married, he was not named on the birth certificate or listed on the presumed father registry.
Registration is a little-known law in 22 states that “allows a man who claims to be the biological father of an unmarried child to retain his right to care and consent in the event of an adoption.”
“There is a real problem, and good fathers are losing rights and losing time,” Marteliz said, adding that he had filed a petition to establish paternity and filled out the registry the month his daughter was born.
Marteliz’s attorney blasted the Florida law, saying it favors adoption agencies over parents.
Marteliz is not listed on the putative father registry, which “allows a man who claims to be the biological father of an unmarried child to retain his right to care and consent in the event of an adoption.” Brandon Marteliz / Facebook
“It’s very difficult to navigate it and difficult to fight it, it needs reform,” said David Hurvitz.
The adoption agency argued Marteliz was given every opportunity allowed by law and only argued because the court decision was not in her favor.
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Source: thtrangdai.edu.vn/en/
