Discretionary appointment of counsel
Previously, under Mo. Ann. Stat. § 453.030(11), a birth parent had a right to legal representation “and payment of any reasonable legal fees incurred throughout the adoption process”, with such fees to be paid by the adoptive parents unless indigent. However, the statute was amended in 2022 to remove this provision about payment of fees.
The statute still provides that “[T]he court may appoint an attorney to represent a birth parent” if the birth parent requests such counsel, is not already be represented by counsel, and is, in the court’s view, faced with “financial hardship” if obliged to hire an attorney out of pocket. However, unlike the statute governing appointment of counsel in termination of parental rights cases, there is no requirement that the birth parent be notified of the possibility of being provided appointed counsel, and therefore the failure to notify is not reversible error. Interest of A.D.S., — S.W.3d —-, 2025 WL 1177201 (Mo. App. Apr. 23, 2025).
