Adoption
Chapter 48 of the North Carolina General Statutes governs adoptions in the State of North Carolina. The statutory procedures in Chapter 48 of the General Statutes must be strictly adhered to in order to accomplish a legal adoption. There are two types of adoptions in North Carolina: (1) private adoptions and (2) agency adoptions. The statutory procedures for private adoption or agency adoption will differ. Other articles under Chapter 48 will cover adoptions of minors, adult adoptions, stepparent adoptions, and the re-adoptions of a child by his or her natural parent after a stepparent adoption.
In general, adoption is a method of establishing the legal relationship of a parent and child between persons who are not already related by blood. The adoption process will permanently sever the relationship between the adoptee-child and his or her natural, biological parents and their families. The ultimate effect of a legal adoption is that the adoptive family will be granted all the rights formerly held by the biological family and the biological family will in essence be treated as though they never existed. Once an adoption decree is signed, the adoptee-child has the same legal status as a legitimate child born to the adoptive-parent and may inherit through his or her adoptive parents through intestate succession. Also, upon the execution of an adoption decree, the biological parents' legal rights are terminated and the biological parents will have no legal rights or obligations towards the child. Neither the adoptee-child nor the biological parents may inherit by and through each other through intestate succession once an adoption is complete.
It is important to note that in a stepparent adoption, when a stepparent adopts his or her stepchild, the adoption does not terminate the relationship of the child with his or her natural, biological parent who is, of course, the spouse of the adopting stepparent.
Chapter 48 of the North Carolina General Statutes states in relevant part that our adoption statutes are designed to “ promote the integrity and finality of adoptions, to encourage prompt, conclusive disposition of adoption proceedings, and to structure services to adopted children, biological parents, and adoptive parents that will provide for the needs and protect the interests of all parties to an adoption, particularly adoptive minors.”
Any person over the age of 18 may adopt another individual. Under Chapter 48, however, spouses may not adopt each other. Once an individual is adopted, the name of the adoptee person will be changed to the name designated in the adoption decree.
Private or direct adoption placements are those made by the natural, biological parents either directly to prospective adoptive-parents or through a non-licensed intermediary such as a physician, lawyer, relative, or friend.
Agency placements are those made by a licensed private adoption agency or an official state bureau designated to make adoption placements. In an agency placement, the child is formally “surrendered” or “relinquished” by the biological parents to the agency, which then acts in place of the parents in seeking to bring about a desirable adoption. Agencies can also receive children through judicial disposition in cases where the parental rights of the natural, biological parents have been terminated through a court proceeding and ruling. Chapter 48 of the North Carolina General Statutes governs both direct, and agency adoptions.
An adoption begins by filing a Petition for Adoption. A party wishing to file a Petition for Adoption must also provide the following documents with their Petition:
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a pre-placement assessment;
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the consent to adopt from the natural, biological parents;
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an affidavit from the biological mother indicating the names, known addresses and marital status of the biological parents;
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the certified copy of the background information on the adoptee-child’s health, social, educational and genetic history which is provided by his or her biological parent(s) or by the adoption agency placing the child up for adoption;
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any court order or pleading regarding the adoptee-child’s custody or visitation;
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an affidavit accounting for any payment made in connection with the adoption; and
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the document identifying any individual whose consent to the adoption is required and had not been obtained at the time your petition for adoption was filed.
Once a Petition for Adoption has been filed, notice of its filing must be served on any individual whose consent to the adoption is required by law and whose consent had not been obtained at the time the Petition was filed.
Pursuant to Chapter 48, the court is required to set a hearing date on your adoption Petition within 90 days after you file your Petition for Adoption. Within 6 months after the date the Petition for Adoption is filed, a hearing or disposition of your adoption Petition must take place. If the adoption is to take place by consent, and the adoptive parent is found to be fit and proper, there will be no need for a hearing. If however, a hearing is to take place, the court will have to determine by a preponderance of the evidence that: (1) it is in the best interests of the minor child that the adoption takes place; (2) that the adoptive parent(s) are fit and proper; and (3) that all the statutory procedures have been met.
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