Kathy
11-08-2004, 09:22 AM
Life More 'Normal' For Boy Who Divorced Dad
Several Hurdles Remain, Guardians Say
POSTED: 6:55 am EST November 8, 2004
CAMBRIDGE, Mass. -- A New Hampshire boy who successfully "divorced" his father
said Sunday that life finally is getting back to normal, though several hurdles
remain before he can be adopted by his longtime guardians.
"Life is definitely back to normal now, as normal as it ever could have been,"
Patrick Holland, 14, said during a party the Massachusetts Department of Social
Services threw for him.
Patrick was 8 the night his father, Daniel Holland, shot his mother eight times
at their Quincy home in 1998. Daniel Holland is serving a life sentence for Liz
Holland's death.
Over the past two years, Patrick made history, becoming the first child in
Massachusetts to independently seek termination of his father's parental
rights. In July, his father signed a settlement waiving any right to be part of
his life, just before the case was to go to trial.
"I had no voice and was victimized twice: first by the loss of my mother and
second by the courts who initially allowed my father rights and access to me,"
he said. "He should have lost that right after he killed my mother, leaving me
to find her. Kids need a voice."
Patrick lives with his guardians, Ron and Rita Lazisky of Sandown, N.H., close
friends of his mother. Now a freshman at Timberlane Regional High School,
Patrick said he is in an after-school art program and plays guitar in a band.
"Patrick has advocated for himself since he was 9 years old, so I'm just in awe
of you," Denise Monteiro, a spokeswoman for the social services department,
told Patrick while addressing the party.
"He was not going to be a victim," she said. "He's a survivor."
The Laziskys are seeking to adopt Patrick, a process they expected to go
smoothly once Daniel Holland agreed to give up his parental rights. But their
efforts hit a snag when a judge refused to let the state file adoption papers
on their behalf, because Patrick is no longer in the state's custody, Ron
Lazisky said.
The Department of Social Services has since found a lawyer willing to handle
the adoption for free.
Ron Lazisky also said Patrick was asked to meet with a social worker, but has
refused.
"We're going to respect Patrick's wishes," he said. "He's tired of talking to
people. We think it ought to be over for him."
Monteiro wished Patrick and the Laziskys well in the adoption process.
"They were a family long before the courts got involved," she said.
http://www.adoption.com/includes/frame.php?url=http://www.thebostonchannel
..com/news/3898459/detail.html
Kathy
Several Hurdles Remain, Guardians Say
POSTED: 6:55 am EST November 8, 2004
CAMBRIDGE, Mass. -- A New Hampshire boy who successfully "divorced" his father
said Sunday that life finally is getting back to normal, though several hurdles
remain before he can be adopted by his longtime guardians.
"Life is definitely back to normal now, as normal as it ever could have been,"
Patrick Holland, 14, said during a party the Massachusetts Department of Social
Services threw for him.
Patrick was 8 the night his father, Daniel Holland, shot his mother eight times
at their Quincy home in 1998. Daniel Holland is serving a life sentence for Liz
Holland's death.
Over the past two years, Patrick made history, becoming the first child in
Massachusetts to independently seek termination of his father's parental
rights. In July, his father signed a settlement waiving any right to be part of
his life, just before the case was to go to trial.
"I had no voice and was victimized twice: first by the loss of my mother and
second by the courts who initially allowed my father rights and access to me,"
he said. "He should have lost that right after he killed my mother, leaving me
to find her. Kids need a voice."
Patrick lives with his guardians, Ron and Rita Lazisky of Sandown, N.H., close
friends of his mother. Now a freshman at Timberlane Regional High School,
Patrick said he is in an after-school art program and plays guitar in a band.
"Patrick has advocated for himself since he was 9 years old, so I'm just in awe
of you," Denise Monteiro, a spokeswoman for the social services department,
told Patrick while addressing the party.
"He was not going to be a victim," she said. "He's a survivor."
The Laziskys are seeking to adopt Patrick, a process they expected to go
smoothly once Daniel Holland agreed to give up his parental rights. But their
efforts hit a snag when a judge refused to let the state file adoption papers
on their behalf, because Patrick is no longer in the state's custody, Ron
Lazisky said.
The Department of Social Services has since found a lawyer willing to handle
the adoption for free.
Ron Lazisky also said Patrick was asked to meet with a social worker, but has
refused.
"We're going to respect Patrick's wishes," he said. "He's tired of talking to
people. We think it ought to be over for him."
Monteiro wished Patrick and the Laziskys well in the adoption process.
"They were a family long before the courts got involved," she said.
http://www.adoption.com/includes/frame.php?url=http://www.thebostonchannel
..com/news/3898459/detail.html
Kathy
