Alabama § 26-10E-10 - Consent to Adoption or Relinquishment for Adoption - Persons from Whom Consent Is Not Required.

§ 26-10E-10. Consent to Adoption or Relinquishment for Adoption - Persons from Whom Consent Is Not Required.

Notwithstanding the provisions of Section 26-10E-7, the consent of the following individuals shall not be required for an adoption or relinquishment for adoption:

(1) A parent of the adoptee whose rights with reference to the adoptee have been terminated by a final judgment of a court of this state or any other state.

(2) A parent of the adoptee who has been adjudged incompetent or incapacitated pursuant to law or a parent whom the court finds to be mentally incapable of consenting or relinquishing and whose mental disability is likely to continue for so long a period that it would be detrimental to the adoptee to delay adoption until restoration of the parent’s competency or capacity. The court shall appoint independent counsel or a guardian ad litem for an incompetent or incapacitated parent for whom there has been no such prior appointment.

(3) A parent of an adoptee who has voluntarily relinquished the adoptee to the State Department of Human Resources, a similar agency of another state, or a licensed child-placing agency for an adoption, unless this relinquishment has been withdrawn in accordance with this chapter or the law of the state in which the relinquishment was made.

(4) A deceased parent of the adoptee or a parent of the adoptee who is presumed to be deceased under this state’s or any other state’s law.

(5) A putative father of the adoptee who has signed a written statement denying paternity.

(6) A putative father of the adoptee when the mother swears in an affidavit pursuant to Section 26-10E-16(c) that the putative father is unknown, unless the putative father is otherwise made known to the court.

(7) A putative father of the adoptee who fails to prove his paternity of the adoptee.

(8) A legal father or putative father when clear and convincing evidence is presented to the court that the adoptee was conceived by rape, incest, or sexual assault committed by the legal father or putative father, whose crimes are defined by the laws of this state or, if the crime occurred not in this state, the jurisdiction in which the crime occurred.

(9) A parent of the adoptee who has been convicted of child abuse or other felonious acts against the adoptee as defined by the laws of this state or, if the crime occurred not in this state, the jurisdiction in which the crime occurred.