North Carolina § 48-3-603 - Persons whose consent is not required.

§ 48-3-603. Persons whose consent is not required.

Consent to an adoption of a minor is not required of a person or entity whose consent is not required under G.S. 48-3-601, or any of the following: An individual whose parental rights and duties have been terminated under Article 11 of Chapter 7B of the General Statutes or by a court of competent jurisdiction in another state. A man described in G.S. 48-3-601(2), other than an adoptive father, if (i) the man has been judicially determined not to be the father of the minor to be adopted, or (ii) another man has been judicially determined to be the father of the minor to be adopted. Repealed by Session Laws 1997-215, s. 11(a). An individual who has relinquished parental rights or guardianship powers, including the right to consent to adoption, to an agency pursuant to Part 7 of this Article. A man who is not married to the minor's birth mother and who, after the conception of the minor, has executed a notarized statement denying paternity or disclaiming any interest in the minor. A deceased parent or the personal representative of a deceased parent's estate. An individual listed in G.S. 48-3-601 who has not executed a consent or a relinquishment and who fails to respond to a notice of the adoption proceeding within 30 days after the service of the notice or, if service is by publication, 40 days from the first publication of the notice. An individual notified under G.S. 48-2-206 who does not respond in a timely manner or whose consent is not required as determined by the court. (See editor's note) An individual whose actions resulted in a conviction under G.S. 14-27.21, G.S. 14-27.22, G.S. 14-27.23, or G.S. 14-27.24 and the conception of the minor to be adopted. The court may issue an order dispensing with the consent of the following: A guardian or an agency that placed the minor upon a finding that the consent is being withheld contrary to the best interest of the minor. A minor 12 or more years of age upon a finding that it is not in the best interest of the minor to require the consent. History (1949, c. 300; 1957, c. 90; c. 778, ss. 3, 4; 1969, c. 534, s. 1; 1971, c. 1185, s. 17; 1975, c. 321, s. 1; c. 714; 1977, c. 879, ss. 2, 3; 1979, c. 107, s. 7; 2nd Sess., c. 1088, s. 1; 1983, c. 292; 1985, c. 758, ss. 5-9; 1987, c. 371, s. 1; 1995, c. 457, s. 2; 1997-215, ss. 11(a), 17; 1998-202, s. 13(o); 2004-128, s. 9; 2013-236, s. 7; 2015-54, s. 8; 2015-181, s. 34.) Editor's Note. - Subdivision (a)(9), as added by Session Laws 2004-128, s. 9, effective December 1, 2004, applies to offenses committed on or after that date. The amendment to subdivision (a)(9) by Session Laws 2013-236, s. 7, inserted the reference to G.S. 14-27.2A [now 14-27.23]; Session Laws 2013-236, s. 14, made this amendment effective when the act became law (July 3, 2013). Session Laws 2015-54, s. 12, made the amendment to subdivision (a)(7) of this section by Session Laws 2015-54, s. 8, applicable to proceedings filed after June 4, 2015. Session Laws 2015-181, s. 48, effective December 1, 2015, made the amendment to subdivision (a)(9), by Session Laws 2015-181, s. 34, applicable to offenses committed on or after that date. Prosecutions for offenses committed before the effective date of this act are not abated or affected by this act, and the statutes that would be applicable but for this act remain applicable to those prosecutions. Effect of Amendments. - Session Laws 2013-236, s. 7, effective July 3, 2013, added "any of the following" in the introductory language of subsection (a); added "G.S. 14-27.2A" in subdivision (a)(9); added "the following" at the end of the introductory language of subsection (b); and made minor stylistic and punctuation changes throughout subsections (a) and (b). Session Laws 2015-54, s. 8, effective June 4, 2015, added "or, if service is by publication, 40 days from the first publication of the notice" in subdivision (a)(7). For applicability, see editor's note. Session Laws 2015-181, s. 34, effective December 1, 2015, substituted "G.S. 14-27.21, G.S. 14-27.22, G.S. 14-27.23, or G.S. 14-27.24" for "G.S. 14-27.2, G.S. 14-27.2A, or G.S. 14-27.3" in subdivision (a)(9). For applicability, see editor's note. Legal Periodicals. - For survey of 1978 family law, see 57 N.C.L. Rev. 1084 (1979). For note, "In re S.D.W.: A Step in the Wrong Direction for Unmarried Fathers' Parental Rights," see 7 Charlotte L. Rev. 217 (2016).