Legally Enforceable Post-Adoption Contact Agreements
Legally Enforceable Post-Adoption Contact Agreements Professor Hollinger made reference to 17 states with statutes to allow courts to approve certain kinds of post-adoption contact agreements*. Most include language saying that failure to comply with the agreement cannot be used to challenge the validity of the adoption itself, and all do not allow the court to impose post-adoption contact on anyone who objects, including the child if over the age of 12 or 14. These statutes vary. Some apply to all adoptions, some only to older child adoptions, some require consent of the agency, others encourage mediation, others have no provisions for enforcement, and so on. The 17 states referenced with
some provision are: Alaska, Arizona, California (kinship adoptions only), Florida, Indiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Montana, Nebraska, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Washington, West Virginia.
Missouri, Ohio, and Tennessee recognize non-binding open adoption agreements, and most other states have no statutes one way or the other.
* Appendix 13-B, Adoption Law and Practice, 2 vol. (Matthew Bender Co., 1988-99) Joan H. Hollinger, ed.
Judge Wadie Thomas, Jr., who serves as Juvenile Court Judge for Douglas County, NE, cited post-adoption agreement statutes in several states, and confirmed that in his court, if a child can articulate his/her wishes regarding post-adoption contact and the reasons for them, the child's wishes will be taken into consideration.
Drawing up agreementsFrom a practice standpoint, Professor Allen, Kathy Ledesma, and Maria Quintanilla of the Latino Family Institute, agreed that wording of post-adoption agreements should be specific and both parties should be as honest as possible about their desires and expectations. Mediation services are encouraged, both when the agreement is formulated, and post-adoption in the event of a desire to change the terms or conflict. Some agreements may include members of the extended birth family (i.e., grandparents) or others, depending on prior contact, if it's considered adviseable for the well-being of the child.
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