Frequently Asked Questions about Adoption
OTHER ADOPTION RELATED QUESTIONS
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1.
Who initiates the adoption process?
Typically the birth mother initiates the process of making a responsible
adoption plan with the assistance of either a private adoption attorney or a
licensed adoption agency.
2. When are the legal adoption papers filed with
the court?
The Complaint for Adoption is filed after the Petitioner has received the
adoptee into his home. However, if the child is to be placed out of state, a
Petition for Special Circumstances allowing the out-of-state placement can
be filed before the birth of the child.
3. Can the baby be placed for adoption without
the consent of the birth mother and/or birth father?
The birth mother’s consent is always required if she is alive and her
parental rights have not been judicially terminated.
The birth father’s consent is required if he was married to the birth
mother. If the birth father was not married to the birth mother, his consent
may or may not be required depending upon the age of the child at placement,
whether or not the birth father lived with the child’s mother for a
continuous period of six months immediately preceding the placement and
openly held himself out to be the father of the child or paid a fair and
reasonable sum based upon his financial ability for the support of the child
or expenses incurred with the pregnancy or birth.
4. What happens if the birth parents do not
agree on the adoption plan?
If the birth father’s consent is required, he can preclude the adoption.
His consent will be required if he is married to the birth mother. If he is
not married to the birth mother, whether or not his consent is required will
turn on the facts and how they are applied under §20-7-1690 and the case of
Abernathy v. Baby Boy - 437 SE 2d 25 (SC 1993).
5. Who can charge a fee for bringing birth
parents and adoptive parents together?
§20-7-1690 addresses this issue. It reads as follows:
(F) Under no circumstances may a child-placing agency or any person
receive a fee, compensation, or any other thing of value as consideration
for giving a consent or relinquishment of a child for the purpose of
adoption and no child-placing agency or person may receive a child for
payment of such fee, compensation, or any other thing of value.
However, costs may be assessed and payment made, subject to the court's
approval, for the following:
- Reimbursements for necessary, actual medical, and reasonable living
expenses incurred by the mother and child for a reasonable period of time;
- The fee for obtaining investigations and reports as required by
Section 20-7-1740;
- The fee of the individuals required to take the consent or
relinquishment, as required by Section 20-7-1705(A);
- The fee of a guardian ad litem appointed pursuant to Section
20-7-1732;
- Reasonable attorney's fees and costs for actual services rendered;
- Reasonable fees to child-placing agencies; and
- Reasonable fees to sending agencies as defined in Section 20-7-1980(
2)(b), the Interstate Compact on the Placement of Children.
The court may approve an adoption while not approving unreasonable fees
and costs.
6. Is the use of a non-licensed facilitator,
non-licensed child placing agencies, permitted to match adoptive families
and birth families?
No. Any non-licensed facilitator or non-licensed child placing agency
that attempts to receive a fee to match adoptive families with birth
families would likely run afoul of South Carolina Code Sections 16-3-1060
and 20-7-1690(f). Violating this provisions of these sections is a felony
and carries sanctions of up to ten (10) years in prison and fines of up to
$10,000.00 or both.
7. Are independent adoptions allowed?
Yes.
8. How are independent and agency adoptions
different?
Independent adoptions typically match adoptive families with a particular
birth mother and the adoptive parents bear all of the costs and risks
associated with a particular birth mother.
Many agency adoptions proceed on a flat fee basis and allowable birth
mother expenses for a particular birth mother are not passed through
directly to the adoptive parents.
9. How does an adoptee go about requesting access
to their adoption file?
The file will be kept confidential except upon court order for good cause
shown by order of the judge of the court in which the decree of adoption
entered § 20-7-1780.
The court will weigh the privacy rights of the natural parents against
the interests of the adopted child to determine whether or not good cause
has been shown. A basic desire of the adoptee to know their identity has
been found to be insufficient. Bradley v. Children’s Bureau of South
Carolina, 274 SE2d 418 (1981). There must be a compelling reason for such
information to be revealed. Gardner v. Baby Edwards, 342 SE2d 601 (1986).
Facts about Private Adoption in South Carolina
Page Copyright © 2005 Stephen Yacobi Law Firm. All rights reserved.
Revised: July 28, 2005
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