ASENTE CASE Custody battle coming closer to an end

Both sides are trying to reach an agreement and end the legal battle.
STAFF AND WIRE REPORT
GIRARD -- A Girard couple is proposing to end a five-year legal battle with two Kentucky residents over the adoption of a boy.
Under the terms of a proposal by Rich and Cheryl Asente, birth mother Regina Moore and Jerry Dorning, who claims to be the boy's father, both of Covington, Ky., would get to see the boy once a month.
The Asentes proposed retaining full custody rights to 6-year-old Justin, who they have cared for since 1998.
The Asentes had adopted Justin's brother, Joey, who is now 8. Joey is not involved in the litigation.
The Asentes' offer is in response to an offer they received last week from Moore and Dorning, Debbie Grabarkiewicz, director of case advocacy for Hear My Voice, a national nonprofit child advocacy organization, said Wednesday.
Moore and Dorning will receive the Asentes' offer today, Grabarkiewicz said.
"I can't comment what's in either one of the offers," Mrs. Asente said Wednesday. "I can tell you we are hopeful, and we are praying to come to some agreement to end the fighting and that we don't have to continually go to court."
Mrs. Asente has said she and her husband have managed to pay off some legal expenses, but still owe about $300,000.
"We're trying as hard as we can to end this, but we want it to end cooperatively," she added.
What happened
The Asentes filed for the adoption of Justin. Moore and Dorning, who originally gave up Justin, changed their minds about the adoption and have been trying to regain custody of Justin.
Last month, the Kentucky Supreme Court sent Justin's custody case back to the trial court to decide between the Kentucky residents and the Asentes.
Reversing an appeals court, the justices said there was evidence to support an earlier ruling that Moore and Dorning did not know what they were doing when they signed a confusing adoption consent form in 1998.
The court ordered the trial judge, Kenton County Circuit Judge Patricia Summe, to decide the case and award custody "on the basis of Justin's best interest."
Moore and Dorning's offer allowed the Asentes to retain full custody of Justin, but had much more liberal visitation rights than the Asentes' counteroffer, Grabarkiewicz said.
The Asentes' offer will include monthly visits alternating between Ohio and Kentucky, Grabarkiewicz said.
"We're facing five years or so more of litigation," Grabarkiewicz said. "So they felt that it was time to do this, and they felt that everyone was coming together to make a difference."
The advocate said that she suspects there will be some negotiation but that she expects the matter to be resolved shortly.
"The ball is in the court of the biological parents now, and so we'll wait to see what happens," Grabarkiewicz said. "But the Asentes are very hopeful and encouraged by their initial offer and they're trying to come together, which is a wonderful thing."