On the brand new Teen Mother: The Subsequent Chapter, Gary meets with a lawyer after Leah expressed her need to be adopted by her stepmom, Kristina, whereas the teenager additionally reiterates that she’s “scared” of how Amber would react.
Amber Portwood’s ex, Gary Shirley, is taking the primary steps for his or her daughter Leah to turn into adopted by her stepmother.
On Thursday’s episode of Teen Mother: The Subsequent Chapter, Gary met with a lawyer to debate the potential of Leah getting adopted by his spouse, Kristina, after his daughter expressed how she needs to be adopted by her stepmom amid her estrangement from Amber.
And based on the lawyer, they’ve “actually a great case for adoption.”
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Earlier than Gary and Kristina went to go to the lawyer, Trina Saunders, Gary shared his ideas and issues in a confessional.
“With the potential of Kristina adopting Leah, I am completely on board. It is not as simple as signing a test or snapping your fingers; there’s quite a bit concerned,” stated Gary, who was granted full custody of Leah in 2011.
“We now have to go to courtroom. That places a whole lot of strain on her,” he continued. “After which, what if her mother simply impulsively begins to take her, you already know? It is a pressure on me. It is a pressure on poor Leah. I am not right here to harm Amber, however she should not be right here to harm Leah, both.”
“Someone’s gonna get damage,” Gary added. “And the particular person [who’s] hurting essentially the most proper now’s Leah. I am ensuring my child would not endure.”
Whereas it was already identified to viewers that Amber and Leah have been estranged, Gary advised the lawyer that Amber has solely seen Leah “4 days” within the “previous yr.”
When Saunders requested about youngster help, Gary stated that it is not “enforced by way of the courtroom,” and claimed Amber is “behind” on funds.
And based on Saunders, within the courtroom’s eyes, Amber’s absence in Leah’s life is taken into account “abandonment.”
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“As a result of she’s not had any vital contact along with her mom over the past six months, that is deemed as abandonment,” the lawyer advised Gary and Kristina.
“I believe that adoption can be your best choice, as a result of in an adoption that severs that parent-child relationship that she has along with her mom, and you’d turn into her mom, and also you additionally can be positioned on the start certificates as her mom,” Saunders stated to Kristina.
“But when we are able to present that [Amber’s] deserted her daughter, then we do not want her mother’s consent,” she added.
Whereas Gary admitted that he thinks Amber would “contest” the adoption, Saunders famous that she believes that if it went to courtroom, they’d “be capable of present” that Amber has “not been” in Leah’s life, “she’s not supplied for her financially, [and] she’s not had vital contact along with her in over six months.”
“I believe you’ve gotten a very good case for adoption,” she acknowledged.
Though Gary admitted that that is “not one thing we needed to do,” he is involved about Leah’s well-being if one thing have been to occur to him.
“I do not see Amber being what Leah wants,” he stated. “I must know that if one thing occurs to me, Leah’s protected.”
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The lawyer stated the “timeline” can be about “60 days” to start out the adoption course of.
Later within the episode, Gary and Kristina sat down with Leah, and relayed the knowledge they acquired on the appointment.
Gary stated if “all the pieces was to go easily,” the adoption “might take three months.” Nevertheless, he advised Leah that if “Amber contests then it might take like a yr, it might take longer.”
“I believe the purpose right here is to be sure to’re wholesome and glad and brought care of and you’ve got what you need,” Gary stated.
Leah — who turned 16 in November — voiced her concern that Amber might make the method “tougher.”
“By then, it’d take two years, after which at that time, there’s probably not no level even going by way of all the difficulty for it,” she stated.
In a confessional, Leah shared her ideas, admitting that she actually needs Kristina to undertake her, however she’s “scared” of how Amber might react.
“I wish to be adopted as a result of Kristina’s been there my complete life,” the teenager stated of her stepmom, who married her dad in 2015. “I imply, I actually wish to do it, however I am scared it will make Amber mad. I do not like being imply to individuals.”
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“However I do not know, I simply really feel prefer it must be official, and it is greater than a bit of paper to me,” she added.
Leah famous her hesitation to her dad and stepmom, earlier than noting that she’s going to “give it some thought” earlier than she decides.
Gary recommended that Leah converse to her therapist in regards to the scenario to see what might be “emotionally be finest” for her and the “healthiest possibility.”
“I do know that your mother loves you,” he stated, “however for some motive, she would not know present it.”
Gary opened up additional in a confessional, telling the MTV cameras, “If it wasn’t for Kristina being in her life as a lot as she was, Leah would not have a mother. It could be no person.”
Kristina, in the meantime, stated that Leah is “going to weigh her choices” and “determine what route she needs to go,” stressing that she “will do no matter she needs.”
“Nothing will change the best way that I really like that lady,” she stated, later assuring Leah, “I am not going wherever. I really like you, and I am there for you, and we’ll get by way of it.”
New episodes of Teen Mother: The Subsequent Chapter air Thursdays on MTV.
