Title 15A, Title 15A: Adoption Act

§ 1-105. Legal relationship between adoptee and former parent after adoption (a) When a decree of adoption becomes final: (1) all parental rights and duties of each former parent of the adoptee terminate, including the right of inheritance and intestate succession from or through…

§ 1-106. Other rights of adoptee A decree of adoption does not affect any benefit from a third person, agency, state, Indian tribe, the United States, or any other country that is due the adoptee when the adoption decree becomes final. (Added 1995, No. 161 (Adj. Sess.), § 1.)

§ 1-107. Proceedings subject to Indian Child Welfare Act The federal Indian Child Welfare Act, 25 U.S.C. §§ 1901 et seq., governs any proceeding under this title that pertains to an Indian child, as defined by the Indian Child Welfare Act, and prevails over any inconsistent provi…

§ 1-108. Recognition of adoption decree in another jurisdiction A decree or order of adoption issued by a court of any other state which is entitled to full faith and credit in this State, or a decree or order of adoption entered by a court or administrative entity in another cou…

§ 1-109. Termination of orders and agreements for visitation or communication upon adoption When a decree of adoption becomes final, except as provided in Article 4 of this title and 33 V.S.A. § 5124, any order or agreement for visitation or communication with the minor shall be …

§ 1-110. Notice of intent to retain parental rights (a) At any time, a parent or alleged parent of a child born in this State may file in any Probate Division of the Superior Court in this State a notice of intent to retain parental rights. The notice shall specify the name and a…

§ 1-111. Mental health and educational services (a) Within six months of the effective date of this title, the agency of human services shall adopt standards for certification of adoption counselors. These standards shall include a description of: (1) the prerequisites to applica…

§ 1-112. Family Division of the Superior Court jurisdiction The Family Division of the Superior Court shall have jurisdiction to hear and dispose of issues pertaining to parental rights and responsibilities, parent-child contact and child support in accordance with the provisions…

§ 1-113. Criminal record checks (a) Criminal record checks required under this title shall be obtained as provided in this section. (b) The Commissioner for Children and Families or any judge of the Probate Division of the Superior Court shall obtain from the Vermont Crime Inform…

§ 1-114. Confirmatory adoption for children born through assisted reproduction (a) As used in this section: (1) “Assisted reproduction” means a method of causing pregnancy other than sexual intercourse and includes: (A) intrauterine, intracervical, or vaginal insemination; (B) do…

§ 2-101. Who may place minors for adoption (a) The only persons who may place a minor for adoption are: (1) a parent having legal and physical custody of the minor, as provided in subsections (b) and (c) of this section; (2) a guardian expressly authorized by the court to place t…

§ 2-102. Direct placement for adoption by parent or guardian (a) A parent or guardian authorized to place a minor for adoption may place the minor only with a prospective adoptive parent who has a valid favorable preplacement evaluation or for whom a preplacement evaluation is no…

§ 2-103. Placement for adoption by agency (a) An agency authorized to place a minor for adoption shall furnish to a person who inquires about its services a written statement of its services, including the agency’s procedure for selecting a prospective adoptive parent for a minor…

§ 2-105. Disclosure of information on background (a) Before placing a minor for adoption, a parent or agency placing the minor shall provide in writing to the prospective adoptive parent all of the following nonidentifying information that is reasonably available from the parents…

§ 2-106. Interstate placement An adoption in this State of a minor brought into this State from another state by a prospective adoptive parent, or by a person who places the minor for adoption in this State, is governed by the laws of this State, including this title and the Inte…

§ 2-107. Intercountry placement An adoption in this State of a minor brought into this State from another country by a prospective adoptive parent, or by a person who places the minor for adoption in this State, is governed by this title, subject to any convention or treaty on in…

§ 2-201. Preplacement evaluation required (a) Except as otherwise provided in subsections (c) and (d) of this section, only a person for whom a favorable written preplacement evaluation has been prepared may accept custody of a minor for purposes of adoption. (b) An evaluation is…

§ 2-202. Preplacement evaluator (a) A preplacement evaluation may be prepared only by a person who is qualified by the Department to make the evaluation or who meets the qualifications of an evaluator and is appointed by the court. (b) An evaluator may charge a reasonable fee, ba…

§ 2-203. Timing and content of preplacement evaluation (a) A person requesting a preplacement evaluation need not have located a prospective minor adoptee when the request is made, and the person may request more than one evaluation. (b) A preplacement evaluation shall be complet…

§ 2-204. Determining suitability to be adoptive parent (a) An evaluator shall assess the information required by section 2-203 of this title to determine whether it raises a concern that placement of any minor, or a particular minor, in the home of the person would pose a risk of…

§ 2-205. Filing and copies of preplacement evaluation (a) If a preplacement evaluation contains a finding that a person is suited to be an adoptive parent, the evaluator shall give the person a signed copy of the evaluation. At the person’s request, the evaluator shall furnish a …

§ 2-206. Review of evaluation (a) Within 90 days after a person receives a preplacement evaluation with a finding that he or she is not suited to be an adoptive parent, the person may petition the Probate Division of the Superior Court for review of the evaluation. (b) If the cou…

§ 2-207. Action by Department If, before a decree of adoption is issued, the Department learns from an evaluator or another person that a minor has been placed for adoption with a person who is the subject of a preplacement evaluation on file with the Department containing a find…

§ 2-401. Persons whose consent to adoption is required (a) Unless consent is not required or is dispensed with by section 2-402 of this title, in a direct placement of a minor for adoption by a parent or guardian authorized under this title to place the minor, a petition to adopt…

§ 2-402. Persons whose consent not required (a) Consent to an adoption of a minor is not required of: (1) a person who has relinquished parental rights or guardianship powers, including the right to consent to adoption, to an agency pursuant to this part of this article; (2) a pe…

§ 2-403. Persons who may relinquish minor A parent or guardian whose consent to the adoption of a minor is required by section 2-401 of this title may relinquish to an agency all rights with respect to the minor, including legal and physical custody and the right to consent to th…

§ 2-404. Time and prerequisites for execution of consent or relinquishment (a) A parent whose consent to the adoption of a minor is required by section 2-401 of this title may not execute a consent or a relinquishment sooner than 36 hours after the minor is born. A parent who exe…

§ 2-405. Procedure for execution of consent or relinquishment (a) A consent or relinquishment executed by a parent or guardian under this title shall be signed in the presence of: (1) a judge of a court that has jurisdiction over adoption proceedings in this or in any other state…

§ 2-406. Content of consent or relinquishment (a) A consent or relinquishment required from a parent or guardian under this title shall be in writing and contain, in plain English or, if the native language of the parent or guardian is a language other than English, in that langu…

§ 2-407. Consequences of consent or relinquishment (a) Except under a circumstance stated in section 2-408 of this title, a consent to the adoption of a minor, which consent is executed by a parent or guardian in substantial compliance with sections 2-405 and 2-406 of this title,…

§ 2-408. Revocation of consent (a) In a direct placement of a minor for adoption by a parent or guardian, and before the adoption is finalized, a consent is revoked if: (1) within 21 days after the consent is executed, a parent who executed the consent notifies the court in writi…

§ 2-409. Revocation of relinquishment (a) A relinquishment under this title is revoked if: (1) within 21 days after a relinquishment is executed, a parent who executed the relinquishment gives written notice to the court in which the relinquishment was signed and the agency to wh…

§ 3-101. Jurisdiction (a) Except as otherwise provided in subsections (b) and (c) of this section, the Probate Division of the Superior Courts of this State have jurisdiction over a proceeding for the adoption of a minor commenced under this title if: (1) immediately before comme…

§ 3-102. Venue (a) Except as provided in subsection (b) of this section, a petition for adoption may be filed in the Probate Division of the Superior Court in the district in which a petitioner resides or has legal residence at the time of filing, the adoptee resides, or an offic…

§ 3-103. Transfer, stay, or dismissal If the court, on its own motion or on motion of a party to the proceeding for adoption, finds in the interests of justice that the matter should be heard in another forum where venue lies under section 3-102 of this title, the court may trans…

§ 3-201. Appointment of attorney or guardian ad litem (a) In a proceeding under this title which may result in the termination of a relationship of parent and child, the court shall appoint an attorney for any person who is indigent, a minor, or incompetent who appears in the pro…

§ 3-203. Confidentiality of proceedings A civil proceeding under this title shall be heard in closed court. The court may admit persons not directly related to the proceedings on motion for good cause shown. (Added 1995, No. 161 (Adj. Sess.), § 1.)

§ 3-204. Custody during pendency of proceeding In order to protect the welfare of the minor, the court shall make an interim order for custody of a minor adoptee according to the best interests of the minor in a contested proceeding under this title for adoption or termination of…

§ 3-205. Removal of adoptee from State Before a decree of adoption is issued, a petitioner may not remove a minor adoptee for more than 30 consecutive days from the state in which the petitioner resides without the permission of the court, if the minor was placed directly for ado…

§ 3-206. Joinder of termination action An action for termination of the legal relationship of parent and child pursuant to Part 5 of this article may be joined with a proceeding for adoption. (Added 1995, No. 161 (Adj. Sess.), § 1.)

§ 3-207. Consolidation and coordination If another action or proceeding concerning the adoptee is pending in the Family Division of the Superior Court of this State during the pendency of a proceeding for adoption under this title, then either court in which an action is pending,…

§ 3-208. Use of initials If a person uses initials to keep the person’s identity confidential as provided for under any section in this title, the court may require that person to disclose his or her identity to another party to a proceeding under this title if the court finds th…

§ 3-301. Standing to petition to adopt (a) Except as otherwise provided in subsection (c) of this section, the only persons who have standing to petition to adopt a minor under this article are: (1) a person with whom a minor has been placed for adoption or who has been selected …

§ 3-302. Time for filing petition (a) Unless the court for good cause extends the time for filing, a petition for adoption shall be filed no later than 45 days after a minor is placed with the petitioner for the specific purpose of adoption. This provision does not apply to foste…

§ 3-303. Caption of petition The caption of the petition shall read “In the Matter of the Adoption of .......... .” and shall contain the name by which the adoptee will be known or initials for the adoptee. (Added 1995, No. 161 (Adj. Sess.), § 1.)

§ 3-304. Content of petition (a) A petition for adoption of a minor shall be signed and verified by the petitioner. It shall be filed and shall contain the following information or state why any of the information omitted is not contained in the petition: (1) the full name, date …