HB123: relative to notice given to putative fathers in adoption proceedings.

CHAPTER 140

HB 123 - FINAL VERSION

25mar03... 0629h

05/08/03 1408s

2003 SESSION

03-0381

05/09

HOUSE BILL 123

AN ACT relative to notice given to putative fathers in adoption proceedings.

SPONSORS: Rep. Hallyburton, Hills 45

COMMITTEE: Children and Family Law

ANALYSIS

This bill:

I. Amends the notice requirements for persons claiming paternity prior to adoption.

II. Provides that an order granting a withdrawal of consent to adoption shall also revoke the other parent's consent and trigger future notice requirements.

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Explanation: Matter added to current law appears in bold italics.

Matter removed from current law appears [in brackets and struckthrough.]

Matter which is either (a) all new or (b) repealed and reenacted appears in regular type.

25mar03... 0629h

05/08/03 1408s

03-0381

05/09

STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE

In the Year of Our Lord Two Thousand Three

AN ACT relative to notice given to putative fathers in adoption proceedings.

Be it Enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court convened:

140:1 Legislative Findings and Intent. The general court finds it necessary at this time to restate and reaffirm the public policy that a putative father who has either been identified by the birth mother or who has, by any of a number of possible means, demonstrated that he wishes to play an active, responsible role in the child's rearing is entitled to notice of a pending adoption of the child.

140:2 Adoption; Notice to Person Claiming Paternity and Hearing to Determine Right to Consent. Amend RSA 170-B:5-a to read as follows:

170-B:5-a Notice to Person Claiming Paternity and Hearing to Determine Right to Consent.

I. In an intrastate or interstate adoption, but not in an international adoption, the following persons shall be given notice by the court and shall have the right to request a hearing to prove paternity:

(a) A person named by the natural mother in an affidavit:

(1) Filed with the court[,]; and

(2) Given prior to or at the time of the mother voluntarily relinquishing her rights pursuant to RSA 170-B:8, the mother consenting to an adoption pursuant to RSA 170-B:9, or the mother's parental rights being involuntarily terminated.

(b) The natural or legal father, if his identity is known by the court, the adoption agency which is legal guardian of the child, or the proposed adoptive parents or their attorney, prior to the mother voluntarily relinquishing her rights pursuant to RSA 170-B:8, the mother consenting to an adoption pursuant to RSA 170-B:9, or the mother's parental rights being involuntarily terminated.

(c) A person who claims to be the father and who has filed notice of his claim of paternity with the office of child support enforcement in what shall be known as the New Hampshire putative father registry or in the putative father registry of the state where the child was born [upon the forms supplied thereby]. In an interstate adoption, the petitioner shall provide the court with the address and telephone number of the putative father registry in the state where the child was born. In New Hampshire, the notice form shall be supplied by the office of child support enforcement and shall indicate the claimant's willingness and intent to support the child to the best of his ability. The notice form may be filed prior to the birth of the child but must be filed prior to the mother's rights being voluntarily relinquished pursuant to RSA 170-B:8, the mother consenting to an adoption pursuant to RSA 170-B:9, or involuntarily terminated. Failure to file the notice prior to this time shall bar the alleged father from thereafter bringing an action to establish his paternity of the child, and shall constitute an abandonment of said child and a waiver of any right to a notice of hearing in any adoption proceeding concerning the child.

(d) A person who is openly living with the child or the child's mother and or providing financial support to the mother or child at the time any action under this chapter is initiated and who is holding himself out to be the child's father prior to the mother voluntarily relinquishing her rights pursuant to RSA 170-B:8, the mother consenting to an adoption pursuant to RSA 170-B:9, or the mother's parental rights being involuntarily terminated.

II. Any person entitled to notice under paragraph I shall be provided 30 days from the date of notice to request a hearing at which he shall have the burden of proving that he is the father of the child. The failure to request such hearing within 30 days from the date of notice shall result in a forfeiture of all parental rights and any right to notice of any adoption proceedings concerning the child.

III. This section shall be construed broadly in favor of providing a putative father with notice of a pending adoption and an opportunity to request a hearing to prove paternity.

140:3 Adoption; Withdrawal of Consent. Amend RSA 170-B:10 to read as follows:

170-B:10 Withdrawal of Consent.

I. A consent to adoption by a parent, including a minor parent, or by a legal guardian executed and acknowledged in accordance with the provisions of RSA 170-B:9, [cannot] may not be withdrawn after the entry of the interlocutory decree of adoption unless [it shall have been] the consent was obtained by fraud or duress.

II. A consent to adoption may not be withdrawn prior to the entry of an interlocutory decree of adoption unless the court finds, after notice and opportunity to be heard is afforded separately to the petitioner, the person seeking the withdrawal, and the agency placing a minor for adoption, provided that the agency shall be present at all hearings, that the withdrawal is in the best interest of the person to be adopted and the court orders the withdrawal.

III. A consent to adoption by a parent, including a minor parent, or by a legal guardian shall be irrevocable after the entry of the final decree of adoption.

IV. A parent wishing to withdraw [such] consent to an adoption as provided in paragraphs I and II shall notify the court in writing where the consent was taken. An order granting the withdrawal of consent shall vacate the other parent's consent and shall reinstitute that parent's right to notice of further proceedings concerning the child.

140:4 Effective Date. This act shall take effect January 1, 2004.

(Approved: June 17, 2003)

(Effective Date: January 1, 2004)