Minor lacked standing to challenge the adoptability of younger siblings because their adoptability did not affect his rights. The 10-year old minor, Tomas, appealed a judgment terminating parental rights over his younger half-siblings and choosing adoption as their permanent plan, challenging their adoptability as well as the inapplicability of the sibling relationship exception. The appellate court found sufficient evidence to support the court’s assessment that the sibling relationship exception did not apply. Although the minors had a pleasant relationship most of the time, Tomas did not show that the termination of the sibling relationship would be sufficiently detrimental to the younger minors to preclude termination of parental rights. The appellate court also found that Tomas lacked standing to challenge the adoptability issue because he was not aggrieved by the adoptability finding (noting in a footnote that substantial evidence also supported the adoptability finding).
Case Summaries