Indiana § 31-19-9-2 - Execution and acknowledgment of consent; timing; restrictions

§ 31-19-9-2. Execution and acknowledgment of consent; timing; restrictions

Sec. 2. (a) The consent to adoption may be executed or acknowledged at any time after the birth of the child, either in the presence of:

(1) the court, in person or by video conferencing;

(2) an attorney, in person or by video conferencing;

(3) a notary public or other person authorized to take acknowledgments; or

(4) an authorized agent of:

(A) the department; or

(B) a licensed child placing agency.

(b) The child's mother may not execute a consent to adoption before the birth of the child.

(c) The child's father may execute a consent to adoption before the birth of the child if the consent to adoption:

(1) is in writing;

(2) is signed by the child's father in the presence of a notary public; and

(3) contains an acknowledgment that:

(A) the consent to adoption is irrevocable; and

(B) the child's father will not receive notice of the adoption proceedings.

(d) A child's father who consents to the adoption of the child under subsection (c) may not challenge or contest the child's adoption.

(e) Except as provided in subsection (f) or (g), a person who executes a written consent to the adoption of a child may not execute a second or subsequent written consent to have another person adopt the child unless one (1) or more of the following apply:

(1) Each original petitioner provides a written statement that the petitioner is not adopting the child.

(2) The person consenting to the adoption has been permitted to withdraw the first consent to adoption under IC 31-19-10.

(3) The court dismisses the petition for adoption filed by the original petitioner or petitioners for adoption based upon a showing, by clear and convincing evidence, that it is not in the best interests of the child that the petition for adoption be granted.

(4) The court denies the petition to adopt the child filed by the original petitioner or petitioners for adoption.

(f) The department may execute more than one (1) written consent to the adoption of a child if the department determines that the execution of more than one (1) written consent is in the best interests of the child.

(g) The parents of a child who is a ward of the department may execute a second or subsequent consent if:

(1) the court with jurisdiction over the child in need of services determines that adoption by the person to whom consents were originally signed is not in the child's best interest; or

(2) if the child's placement with the person who has petitioned or intends to petition to adopt the child is disrupted.

[Pre-1997 Recodification Citation: 31-3-1-6(d).]

As added by P.L.1-1997, SEC.11. Amended by P.L.130-2005, SEC.4; P.L.145-2006, SEC.251; P.L.21-2010, SEC.5; P.L.162-2011, SEC.15; P.L.128-2012, SEC.55; P.L.89-2023, SEC.3; P.L.116-2026, SEC.2.