NO.: 20-5-00553-4 SEA
SUMMONS AND NOTICE OF PETITION/HEARING RE RELINQUISHMENT OF CHILD/ TERMINATION OF PARENT-CHILD RELATIONSHIP
IN THE SUPERIOR COURT OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON
FOR KING COUNTY
IN THE MATTER OF THE ADOPTION
OF INFANT BOY KING,
a person under the age of eighteen.
TO: MILTON E. SMITH III and JOHN DOE (UNKNOWN)
AND TO: ANY OTHER INTERESTED PARTY You are hereby summoned to appear within thirty days after the date of first publication of this summons, to-wit, within thirty days after the 2nd day of October, 2020 and defend the above-entitled action in the above-entitled court, and answer the petition of the Petitioner, OPEN ADOPTION & FAMILY SERVICES, and serve a copy of your answer upon the undersigned attorneys for Petitioner, OPEN ADOPTION & FAMILY SERVICES, at the office below stated; if you fail to do so, judgment may be rendered against you according to the request of the petition which has been filed with the Clerk of said Court. YOU ARE HEREBY NOTIFIED that a petition has been filed in this court praying that the parent-child relationship between parents of the above-named child and the above-named child be terminated. The object of the action is to seek an order relinquishing the child to the Petitioner for adoption and to terminate the parent-child relationship. The child was conceived in or around December 2019 in Federal Way or Tacoma, Washington and was born in Tacoma, Washington on August 11, 2020. The child’s birth mother is STEPHANIE ANN KING.
The court hearing on this matter shall be on the 18th day of November, 2020 at 1:30 p.m. via telephone in the King County Superior Court; address: King County Courthouse, Ex Parte Department, Court Room W-325, 516 Third Avenue, Seattle, Washington 98104. Information regarding participating in the hearing may be found by calling Adoption Services at (206) 477-1493. YOUR FAILURE TO APPEAR AT THIS TELEPHONIC HEARING MAY RESULT IN A DEFAULT ORDER PERMANENTLY TERMINATING ALL OF YOUR RIGHTS TO THE ABOVE-NAMED CHILD.
NOTICE: State and federal law provide protections to defendants who are on active duty in the military service, and to their dependents. Dependents of a service member are the service member’s spouse, the service member’s minor child, or an individual for whom the service member provided more than one-half of the individual’s support for one hundred eighty days immediately preceding an application for relief.
One protection provided is the protection against the entry of a default judgment in certain circumstances. This notice only pertains to a defendant who is a dependent of a member of the national guard or a military reserve component under a call to active service for a period of more than thirty consecutive days. Other defendants in military service also have protections against default judgments not covered by this notice. If you are the dependent of a member of the national guard or a military reserve component under a call to active service for a period of more than thirty consecutive days, you should notify the plaintiff or the plaintiff’s attorney in writing of your status as such within twenty days of the receipt of this notice. If you fail to do so, then a court or an administrative tribunal may presume that you are not a dependent of an active duty member of the national guard or reserves, and proceed with the entry of an order of default and/or a default judgment without further proof of your status. Your response to the plaintiff or plaintiff’s attorneys about your status does not constitute an appearance for jurisdictional purposes in any pending litigation nor a waiver of your rights.
You are further notified that any non-consenting parent or alleged father has a right to be represented by an attorney, and an attorney will be appointed for an indigent parent who requests an attorney. You are further notified that your failure to file a claim of paternity under Chapter 26.26 RCW within thirty days of the first publication of this notice or to respond to the petition within thirty days of the first publication of this notice is grounds to terminate your parent-child relationship with respect to the child.
You are further notified that your failure to respond to the termination action within twenty days of service, if served within the state of Washington, or thirty days if served outside of this state, will result in the termination of the parent-child with respect to the child.
You are further notified that if you are the alleged father of an Indian child, and you acknowledge paternity of the child, or if your paternity of the child is established prior to the termination of the parent-child relationship, your parental rights may not be terminated unless you: (i) give valid consent to termination, or (ii) your parent-child relationship is terminated involuntarily pursuant to 26.33 or 13.34 RCW.
One method of filing your response and serving a copy on the Petitioner is to send them your written response by certified mail with return receipt requested.
Appearances in the Ex Parte Department are conducted using a conference call system. Please visit https://www.kingcounty.gov/courts/superior-court/ex-parte-probate.aspx or contact the Ex Parte and Probate Department for further instructions.
Information for using the court’s e-filing system can be found at https://kingcounty.gov/courts/clerk.aspx.
WITNESS the Honorable JIM ROGERS, Judge/Court Commissioner of said Superior Court and the seal of said Court hereunto affixed this 29th day of September, 2020. BARBARA MINER,
King County Superior Court Clerk
By: R. JACOBS
Deputy Clerk
FILE RESPONSE WITH: Clerk of Court
King County Superior Court
King County Courthouse
516 Third Avenue
Seattle, WA 98104 SERVE A COPY OF YOUR RESPONSE ON: Petitioner’s Attorney:
Albert G. Lirhus
Lirhus Keckemet Annest PLLC
1200 5th Avenue Suite 1550
Seattle, WA 98101
IDX-910146
October 2, 9, 16, 2020