How may my son adopt the child of his fiance?
Full Question:
Answer:
Oklahoma Statute: Title 10, § 7503-2.1 requires consent to adoption from:
Both parents;
One parent if the other is deceased, has had rights terminated, or whose consent is not required;
A legal guardian;
The head of a child-placing agency to the whom the child has been relinquished;
Any person having legal custody;
The parents or guardian of a minor parent under age 16 years
§ 7505-4.2 does not require consent when:
Parental rights have been terminated.
For 12 months, the parent has failed to support the child.
A parent has been convicted of physical or sexual abuse, or is incarcerated.
A putative father fails to acknowledge paternity.
A parent has a mental illness or deficiency.
§§ 7503-2.2; 7503-2.3 states when consent may be given:
The parent may not execute consent until after the child's birth.
A putative father may consent before or after the child's birth.
A permanent relinquishment may be executed any time after the child's birth, after court authorization, but it must be in writing and include a statement of irrevocability.
According to §§ 7503-2.3; 7503-2.6, consent is given the following ways:
Parents may relinquish to the department, an agency, or another person.
Consent must be in writing and executed before a judge.
Consent must state that it was executed voluntarily and unequivocally.
A putative father may make an extra-judicial consent.
According to §§ 7503-2.7; 7503-2.6, consent is irrevocable, except if it was obtained by fraud or duress, or if a court finds that it is in the child's best interest, and there has been no adoptive placement for 9 months.
An extra-judicial consent is revocable for any reason for 15 days.
Here is an excerpt from the Oklahoma statute for adoption proceedings which may be brought in the district court in the county where the petitioners or the child to be adopted reside.
§10-7502-1.1.
A. Except as otherwise provided in this section, a court of this state
has jurisdiction over proceedings to terminate parental rights and
proceedings for the adoption of a minor commenced pursuant to the
Oklahoma Adoption Code if:
1. a. Immediately preceding commencement of the proceeding, the minor
lived in this state with a parent, a guardian, a prospective adoptive
parent, or another person acting as parent, for at least six (6)
consecutive months, excluding periods of temporary absence,
b. In the case of a minor under six (6) months of age, the minor lived
in this state from soon after birth with any of those individuals
listed in subparagraph a of this paragraph and there is available in
this state substantial evidence concerning the minor's present or
future care, or
c. A child is born in this state and the mother of the child executes
her consent or permanent relinquishment before a judge of a court of
this state;
2. Immediately preceding commencement of the proceeding, the
prospective adoptive parent lived in this state for at least six (6)
consecutive months, excluding periods of temporary absence, and there
is available in this state substantial evidence concerning the minor's
present or future care;
3. The child-placing agency that placed the minor for adoption is
located in this state and it is in the best interest of the minor that
a court of this state, assume jurisdiction because:
a. the minor and the minor's parents, or the minor and the prospective
adoptive parent, have a significant connection with this state, and
b. there is available in this state substantial evidence concerning
the minor's present or future care;
4. The minor and the prospective adoptive parent are physically
present in this state, and the minor has been abandoned or it is
necessary in an emergency to protect the minor because the minor has
been subjected to or threatened with mistreatment or abuse or is
otherwise neglected; or
5. It appears that no other state would have jurisdiction under
prerequisites substantially in accordance with paragraphs 1 through 4
of this subsection, or another state has declined to exercise
jurisdiction on the ground that this state is the more appropriate
forum to hear a petition for adoption of the minor, and it is in the
best interest of the minor that a court of this state assume
jurisdiction.
B. 1. If a child is born in this state and the mother of the child
executes her consent or permanent relinquishment before a judge of a
court of this state, a court of this state may exercise jurisdiction
over a proceeding for the termination of parental rights of a putative
father pursuant to Section 7505-2.1 of this title.
2. If a parent has signed a permanent relinquishment in the presence
of a court of this state pursuant to Section 7503-2.3 of this title,
the court may exercise jurisdiction to issue an order terminating the
parental rights of the parent to the child pursuant to Section
7503-2.3 of this title.
3. A court of this state may exercise jurisdiction to issue a
temporary order of custody pursuant to Section 7503-4.1 of this title
for:
a. a minor born in this state, or
b. a minor brought into this state in compliance with the Interstate
Compact on the Placement of Children, if the court is exercising
jurisdiction pursuant to this section over an adoption proceeding
concerning the minor that is pending before the court.
4. If the court does not have jurisdiction over an adoption proceeding
pursuant to subsection A of this section, any order issued pursuant to
this subsection shall include a finding by the court that states that
the court is declining jurisdiction over the adoption proceeding and
is deferring jurisdiction to the more appropriate state.
C. Except as otherwise provided by this section, a court of this state
shall not exercise jurisdiction over a proceeding for adoption of a
minor or for termination of parental rights brought pursuant to
Section 7505-2.1 or 7505-4.1 of this title if, at the time the
petition for adoption or termination is filed, a proceeding concerning
the custody or adoption of the minor is pending in a court of another
state exercising jurisdiction substantially in conformity with the
Uniform Child Custody Jurisdiction Act, the Uniform Child Custody
Jurisdiction and Enforcement Act or the Oklahoma Adoption Code, unless
the proceeding is stayed by the court of the other state because this
state is a more appropriate forum or for another reason.
D. If a court of another state has issued a decree or order concerning
the custody of a minor who may be the subject of a proceeding for
adoption or for termination of parental rights brought pursuant to
Section 7505-2.1 or 7505-4.1 of this title in this state, a court of
this state shall not exercise jurisdiction over a proceeding for
adoption or termination of parental rights of the minor unless:
1. The court of this state finds that the court of the state which
issued the decree or order:
a. does not have continuing jurisdiction to modify the decree or order
under the law of the state which issued the decree or order or has
declined to assume jurisdiction to modify the decree or order, or
b. does not have jurisdiction over a proceeding for adoption
substantially in conformity with paragraphs 1 through 4 of subsection
A of this section or has declined to assume jurisdiction over a
proceeding for adoption; and
2. The court of this state has jurisdiction pursuant to this section
over the proceeding for adoption or termination of parental rights.
Furthermore, these are the persons eligible to adopt a child (which includes a stepparent (see (2)):
§10-7503-1.1.
The following persons are eligible to adopt a child:
1. A husband and wife jointly if both spouses are at least twenty-one
(21) years of age;
2. Either the husband or wife if the other spouse is a parent or a
relative of the child;
3. An unmarried person who is at least twenty-one (21) years of age;
or
4. A married person at least twenty-one (21) years of age who is
legally separated from the other spouse.
An adoption within the same family is not as difficult as other adoptions. However, we do not recommend that any adoption proceeding be attempted without an attorney.
