§ 115 — General provisions relating to private-placement adoptions

New York § 115

• Jurisdiction: New York
• Law DOM: Domestic Relations
• Title 3: Private-placement Adoption
• Art. 7: Adoption

Text

§ 115. General provisions relating to private-placement adoptions. 1.\n(a) Except as otherwise provided in this title, private-placement\nadoptions shall be effected in the same manner as provided in sections\none hundred twelve and one hundred fourteen of title two of this\narticle.\n (b) A person or persons seeking to commence a private-placement\nadoption shall, prior to the submission of a petition for such adoption\nand prior to any transfer of physical custody of an adoptive child, be\ncertified as a qualified adoptive parent or parents by a court of\ncompetent jurisdiction pursuant to section one hundred fifteen-d of this\ntitle. The provisions of such section may be waived upon the court's\nown motion or upon the application of any party for good cause shown.\n (c) A non-resident person or persons seeking to commence a\nprivate-placement adoption of a child present within the state at the\ntime of placement shall, prior to any transfer of physical custody of an\nadoptive child, make application for certification as a qualified\nadoptive parent or parents by a court of competent jurisdiction pursuant\nto section one hundred fifteen-d of this title. Upon application of such\nperson or persons, the court of the county to which the certification\npetition is properly filed may take or retain jurisdiction of the\nadoption proceeding. The provisions of this paragraph may be waived upon\nthe court's own motion or upon the application of any party for good\ncause shown.\n 2. The proceeding shall be instituted in the county where the adoptive\nparents reside or, if such adoptive parents do not reside in this state,\nin the county where the adoptive child resides.\n 3. The adoptive parents or parent, the adoptive child and all persons\nwhose consent is required by section one hundred eleven of this article\nmust appear for examination before the judge or surrogate of the court\nwhere the adoption proceedings are instituted. The judge or surrogate\nmay dispense with the personal appearance of the adoptive child or of an\nadoptive parent who is on active duty in the armed forces of the United\nStates.\n 4. The agreement of adoption shall be executed by the adoptive parents\nor parent.\n 5. Where the petition alleges that either or both of the birth parents\nof the child have been deprived of civil rights or are mentally ill or\ndevelopmentally disabled, proof shall be submitted that such disability\nexists at the time of the proposed adoption.\n 6. The adoptive parent or parents shall also present in an affidavit a\ndescription of any change of circumstances since their certification as\na qualified adoptive parent or parents, pursuant to section one hundred\nfifteen-d of this title, which may be relevant and material to such\ncertification.\n 7. Where the adoptive child is to be adopted upon the consent of some\nperson other than his father or mother, there shall also be presented\nthe affidavit of such person showing how he or she obtained lawful\ncustody of the child.\n 8. The adoptive parent or parents shall also present an affidavit\ndescribing all fees, compensation and other remunerations paid by such\nparent or parents on account of or incidental to the birth or care of\nthe adoptive child, the pregnancy or care of the adoptive child's mother\nor the placement or adoption of the child and on account of or\nincidental to assistance in arrangements for such placement or adoption.\nThe attorney representing the adoptive parents shall also present an\naffidavit describing all fees, compensation and other remuneration\nreceived by him on account of or incidental to the placement or adoption\nof the child or assistance in arrangements for such placement or\nadoption.\n 9. The petition must be verified, the agreement and consents executed\nand acknowledged, the proof given and the affidavit sworn to by the\nrespective persons before such judge or surrogate; but where the\nverification, agreement or consent of an adoptive parent, birth parent\nor person whose consent is necessary to the adoption is duly\nacknowledged or proved and certified in form sufficient to entitle a\nconveyance to be recorded in this state, (except that when executed and\nacknowledged within the state of New York, no certificate of the county\nclerk shall be required), such judge or surrogate may grant the order of\nadoption without the personal appearance of such adoptive parent, birth\nparent or person. The judge or surrogate may, in his discretion,\ndispense with the requirement that the adoptive child appear for\nexamination or join in the petition, where otherwise required. In any\nadoption proceeding where the judge or surrogate shall dispense with the\npersonal appearance of such adoptive parent, birth parent, person whose\nconsent is necessary to the adoption, or adoptive child, the reason\ntherefor must be for good cause shown, and shall be recited in the order\nof adoption.\n 10. In all cases where the consents of the persons mentioned in\nsubdivision two, three and four of section one hundred eleven of this\narticle are not required or where the adoptive child is an adult notice\nof such application shall be served upon such persons as the judge or\nsurrogate may direct.\n 11. The provisions of title two prohibiting the surname of the child\nfrom appearing in the papers, prohibiting disclosure of the surname of\nthe child to the adoptive parents, and requiring a separate application\nfor issuance of a certified copy of an order of adoption prior to the\nsealing of the papers, requiring the filing of a verified schedule,\nshall not apply to private-placement adoptions; provided, however, that\nthe facts required to be stated in the verified schedule in an agency\nadoption shall be set forth in the petition.\n 12. (a) If the child who is being adopted was placed or brought into\nNew York for the purpose of adoption from a state which is a party to\nthe interstate compact on the placement of children and the provisions\nof the compact applied to such placements, the petition must contain a\nstatement that the provisions of section three hundred seventy-four-a of\nthe social services law were complied with and where applicable, that\nthe provisions of section three hundred eighty-two of such law were also\ncomplied with.\n (b) If the child who is being adopted was placed or brought into New\nYork for the purpose of adoption from a state which is not a party to\nthe interstate compact on the placement of children, the petition, where\napplicable, must contain a statement that the provisions of section\nthree hundred eighty-two of the social services law were complied with.\n 13. If the placement of a child into the state of New York is subject\nto the provisions of sections three hundred seventy-four-a and/or three\nhundred eighty-two of the social services law, there shall be attached\nto the petition a copy of the document signed by New York's\nadministrator of the interstate compact on the placement of children or\nhis designee which informs the agency or person who placed the child\ninto the state that such placement complied with the provisions of the\ncompact and/or a copy of the license which is issued pursuant to the\nprovisions of section three hundred eighty-two of the social services\nlaw to the person, institution, corporation or agency which placed or\nbrought the child into this state.\n