Ballard v. Howard

Appellant Austin Ballard filed a petition to adopt his wife's, Hailee Ballard's, five-year-old son, BLH. The child's biological father, Curtis Howard, contested the adoption. After a hearing, the lower court denied the petition. It found that Howard had failed to support his child for a twelve-month period despite having some income but nevertheless denied the adoption petition, finding that to do so would not be in the child's best interest. On appeal, the Ballards argue that the court erred in finding that the adoption was not in BLH's best interest. We affirm.

I. Facts

The court heard the…