Consent is essential to the process of adoption in so many ways. If you wish to adopt a child in Kansas, you should be aware of the many ways in which consent is involved in the adoption process. Consent plays a role in all kinds of adoptions, including domestic adoptions, international adoptions, grandparent adoptions, and stepparent adoptions, except for those adoptions which follow the involuntary termination of the parental rights of one or both of a child’s birth parents.
Consent applies to the birth parents of a child, but it also plays a role in determining who may adopt a child. Under Kansas law, a single person over the age of eighteen may adopt a child, and a husband and wife may adopt a child jointly. A married person may not adopt a child without their spouse’s consent to do so.
Since consent is so critical to the adoption process, it is essential that birth parents and potential adoptive parents understand what consent means under Kansas law. Consent must be given in writing and be acknowledged in court. A consent which has been executed and acknowledged in a place outside of Kansas is valid if it was made either in a way that complies with the requirements of Kansas law or it was made in compliance with the law of the place where it was executed. However, if a consent or relinquishment is executed in a foreign country, it must be made in compliance with the law and procedure of that country in order for it to be considered valid in Kansas. Consent becomes final at the moment that it is executed, unless the consenting party proves by clear and convincing evidence before the final decree of adoption is entered that their consent was not voluntary.
The timing of consent is also important in adoption cases. Consent to an adoption may not be made more than six months before a petition for adoption is filed. Moreover, a mother many not give her valid consent to an adoption or relinquishment until she has waited at least twelve hours after the birth of her child.
If a parent who is a minor wishes to give a child up for adoption, they may consent to do so only with the advice of an independent attorney, who must also be present at the time that the consent is executed. If a minor parent has not obtained their own attorney, then the party or parties who have petitioned the court for adoption must pay for an attorney for the minor parent so that they may have representation.
Adoption can be an emotionally trying process, but the reward of welcoming a child into your family can make it well worth the wait. As you work to prepare yourself for parenthood, your Kansas Adoption Attorney will be by your side, advocating for your best interest throughout the adoption process. Kansas Adoption Attorney Thomas McDowell has helped many families through the adoption process, and he would welcome the opportunity to help you. Please call (316) 633-4322 today, to schedule an initial consultation.