Court grants sole custody to father after mother declared brain-dead: 'I cherish every moment'

ATLANTA - A Georgia father has been awarded sole legal and physical custody of his infant son after a months-long court fight that followed the death of the child’s mother, a case attorneys say exposes gaps in Georgia law affecting unmarried fathers.

What we know:

Better Law Divorce Attorneys said it successfully represented Adrian Harden in the unprecedented case, which began after Harden took his girlfriend, Adriana Smith, to Northside Hospital for treatment of severe headaches. Smith, a 30-year-old nurse who was nine weeks pregnant, was given medication and sent home. The next morning, Harden found her gasping for air and rushed her to Emory University Hospital, where doctors discovered multiple blood clots in her brain.

Smith was declared brain dead on Feb. 19, 2025, and placed on life support. Their son, Chance, was born extremely premature on June 13, 2025, weighing 1 pound, 13 ounces, after an emergency C-section. Smith died four days later after being taken off life support.

While grieving, Harden learned that despite a positive DNA test, he risked being unable to take his son home without a court order establishing his legal rights. Attorneys said the child could have been placed in foster care through the Department of Family and Children’s Services without such an order.

On Aug. 8, 2025, the firm filed an emergency petition for legitimation and custody in DeKalb County Superior Court. Lead attorney Adriana Gonzalez secured an emergency hearing, and on Sept. 3, 2025, a temporary order granted Harden legal rights and temporary sole custody, allowing Baby Chance to go home with his father. On Dec. 2, 2025, Judge Latisha Dear-Jackson issued a final order awarding Harden sole legal and physical custody.

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What they're saying:

Harden said of his newborn son, "I cherish every moment with my son, and I'm so proud of my girl. My baby girl. I know she, I love to see him."

Attorneys representing Harden said his situation underscored what they describe as antiquated Georgia law that left him without automatic parental rights because he was not married to Smith.

Family attorney Melaniece Davis said, "Mr. Hardin did not have any legal rights here in Georgia. If a father has a child with a woman he is not married to, that father has no legal rights whatsoever."

Davis said Harden had no legal claim to his own child even after Smith’s death. "Mr. Hardin did not have any legal rights to his biological son Chance Hardin. He had no rights whatsoever. Even in a tragic situation where the mother has passed. So while he's worrying about the uncertain future of his medically fragile baby, Mr. Hardin is confronted with the fact that legally, he could potentially not be able to take his baby home," she said.

Harden has since chosen to speak publicly in hopes his experience will prompt changes to state law. 

"I just look at him, I see his mama. He's got a lot of life, a lot and a lot of spirit. So, I just keep that going," Harden said.