Alabama § 26-10E-9 - Consent to Adoption or Relinquishment for Adoption - Implied Consent.

§ 26-10E-9. Consent to Adoption or Relinquishment for Adoption - Implied Consent.

(a) A rebuttable presumption that a parent has impliedly consented to the adoption or the relinquishment for adoption of an adoptee arises when clear and convincing evidence shows any of the following:

(1) Abandonment of the adoptee by the parent during the four months immediately preceding the date of the filing of the petition for adoption.

(2) Abandonment of the biological mother by the legal father or putative father by failing to offer to the biological mother financial or emotional support, or both, during the four months immediately preceding the birth of the adoptee despite knowing or having reason to know of the pregnancy.

(3) The parent, without good cause or excuse, left the adoptee without provision for his or her identification for a period of 30 days.

(4) The parent voluntarily and knowingly, without good cause or excuse, left the adoptee with another person without personally providing support for, initiating communication with, or otherwise maintaining a substantial relationship with the adoptee for the four consecutive months immediately preceding the date of the filing of the petition.

(b) A rebuttable presumption that any individual or agency whose consent is required has impliedly consented to the adoption, or the relinquishment for adoption, of an adoptee arises when clear and convincing evidence shows that the individual or agency has received notification of the pendency of the adoption proceedings pursuant to Section 26-10E-17 and has failed to answer or otherwise respond to the petition within 30 days.

(c) Implied consent under subsections (a) or (b) may not be withdrawn by any individual.

(d) A putative father who fails to file a notice of intent to claim paternity of an adoptee pursuant to Section 26-10C-1 prior to or within 30 days of the birth of the adoptee shall be deemed to have given irrevocable implied consent to, or relinquishment for, the adoption of the adoptee.

(e) At any time before the birth of the adoptee, a licensed child-placing agency, an attorney representing the legal mother, or an attorney representing the prospective adoptive parents may serve a putative father with notice consistent with Section 26-10E-17 that the legal mother is considering an adoptive placement of the unborn child in a form to be developed by the Administrative Office of Courts and the Alabama Law Institute. The notice shall not obligate the legal mother to place the child for adoption. A putative father intending to contest the adoption shall have 30 days from the date of service of the notice to file an action to establish his paternity of the unborn child under Section 26-17-611 and to register with the putative father registry pursuant to Section 26-10C-1. If the notified putative father fails to file this action and register with the putative father registry, his failure shall be deemed an irrevocable implied consent to the adoption of the child.