Franklin County Adoptions – Private Adoption Attorneys

PRIVATE ADOPTION INFORMATION

WHAT IS A PRIVATE ADOPTION?

A private adoption is the direct adoption of a minor child from a birth parent to the adoptive parent(s).  No agency or other adoption service is involved.

WHO MAY ADOPT

A married couple, a step-parent of a minor child, a grandparent, a relative, foster parents, and an unrelated, unmarried adult all may adopt minor children through private adoptions.

FILING FEES AND OTHER COSTS

If all of the parties (birth parent and adoptive parent(s)) reside in Franklin County, the filing fees are as follows:

• Pre-placement Application – $1,279
• Petition for Adoption – $550

Fees will vary for out-of-county parties on a county by county basis.  These fees are only for a single-child private adoption, fees will vary if there is more than one child involved in the private adoption. 

In addition, if the parties live outside of Franklin County, but are filing their adoption in Franklin County, the court charges additional filing fees based on mileage.  The further your residence is from Franklin County, the higher the additional fees will be to complete an adoption in Franklin County.

ATTORNEY OR AGENCY REQUIRED

It is required that the adoptive parents are represented by an attorney.  The birth parent shall be represented by a court-appointed attorney if: (1) birth parent is a minor, (2) birth parent is under a legal disability, or (3) the birth parent requests an appointed attorney.  The adoptive parent(s) would be responsible for the fees of their attorney as well as the fees for the court-appointed attorney, which vary by attorney.  An attorney may not represent both the adoptive parent(s) and the birth parent.

HOME STUDY REQUIRED

A home study is required for all private adoptions.  A home study is an independent assessment of the adoptive parent(s) and includes the recommendation of the assessor, which should be a licensed Ohio social worker.  If the adoptive parent(s) have recently had a home study completed in the past twelve months, by a licensed Ohio Social Worker, and nothing has changed (household members remain the same, adoptive parent(s) have not moved to a new address, etc.), then the home study would be accepted by the Probate Court.

Franklin County’s “Pre-Placement Application” fee is substantial.  You may suspect that part of that fee is the court doing a home study, otherwise, why would it be so high?  The court is either going to do a home study or carefully scrutinize the home study you have.  For example, in Franklin County, the court is not content to simply read your home study which says that a safety audit was performed, and a fire inspection was performed,   In Franklin County, the court wants to have the original forms which your agency or the fire inspector used when performing their inspections. 

Franklin County Probate Court wants your home study to be complete within the last year, and ALL information on the home study to be current.  If you have changed jobs, Franklin County wants your home study to contain your current job information. 

Does this mean that you should simply consent to have your home study performed by the court?  Not necessarily.  In fact, the Law Offices of Virginia C. Cornwell recommends that you have your home study performed independently, even if you have to endure delays while the court inspects, confirms and critiques your assessor’s paperwork. 

 

CONSENT REQUIRED

In order to carry out a private adoption, written consent must be executed by all of the following:

1.  Mother of the minor child
2.  Father of the minor child, if:
   1. The child was born when Father and Mother were married
   2. The minor is his child by adoption
   3. A Court found that he had a parent and child relationship with the minor child
   4. He has acknowledged paternity of the minor child.
   5. The putative father of the minor child (a putative father is someone who has registered with the putative father registry within 30 days of the child’s birth and acknowledged that he may be the biological father of the minor child).
   6. Any person or agency having permanent custody of the minor child or any other party that has been authorized by the court to grant consent
   7. AND the minor child, if he or she is more than twelve years old, unless the Court finds that it is not in the child’s best interest to require the child’s consent.

CONSENT UNNECESSARY

Consent to the private adoption is unnecessary from the following types of parties:

1.  A parent of the minor who has failed without justifiable cause to provide more than de minimis contact with the minor or to provide for the maintenance and support of the minor as required by law or decree for a period of at least one year prior to the filing of the adoption petition.
2. The putative father (if):
   1. The putative father fails to register with the putative father registry within thirty days of the minor child’s birth.
   2. The court finds that the putative father is not the biological father, the putative father has failed to care for and support the minor child, he has willfully abandoned the minor child, or if he has willfully abandoned the mother during her pregnancy up to the time of her surrender of the minor child or the minor child’s placement in the home of the adoptive parent(s).
   3.  A parent who has entered into a voluntary permanent custody surrender agreement.
   4.  A parent whose parental rights have been terminated by order of the juvenile court
   5. A parent who is married to the adoptive petitioner and supports the adoption
   6. The father, or putative father, if the minor was conceived as the result of the commission of rape by the father.
   7. A legal guardian or guardian ad litem of a parent who was judicially declared incompetent in a separate court proceeding, who has failed to respond in writing to a request for consent, for a period of thirty days, and who is found by the court to be withholding consent unreasonably.
   8. Any legal guardian or custodian of the minor child, who has failed to respond in writing to a request for consent for a period of at least thirty days, who is found by the court to be withholding consent unreasonably.
   9. Any parent, legal guardian, or other lawful custodian in a foreign country, if the minor child has been released for adoption pursuant to the laws of the country in which the person resides and the release of the minor child is in a form that satisfies the requirements of the immigration and naturalization service of the US.

10. A juvenile court, agency, or person who was given notice of the proceeding and fails to file an objection to the petition within fourteen days after proof of service.

11. Any guardian, custodian, or other party who has temporary custody of the child.

WITHDRAWING CONSENT

A party’s consent is typically irrevocable and it cannot be withdrawn after the entry of an interlocutory order or a final decree.  If consent is withdrawn prior to an interlocutory order or a final decree, the Court may withdraw the party’s consent if it finds that such withdrawal is in the best interest of the minor child.  The court RARELY find that withdrawing the party’s consent is in the best interest of the minor child. 

COURT APPEARANCES

The adoptive parent(s) must appear at the hearing for their adoption.  A birth parent of a minor child must appear before the court, sign the appropriate consent forms, and the court may question the birth parent to make sure that he or she understands the adoption process.

If a minor child is less than six months old, a birth parent may avoid appearing at court if he or she executes a notarized statement of consent to the adoption before the attorney arranging the adoption and fills out the appropriate consent forms.

If a minor child is to be adopted by a stepparent, the parent who is not married to the adopting stepparent may consent to the adoption without appearing at court, as long as he or she executes his or her consent in the presence of a person authorized to take acknowledgements.

If the birth parent of the minor child resides in another state, he or she may consent to the adoption without appearing at court, as long as he or she executes his or her consent in the presence of a person authorized to take acknowledgements.

ADOPTION IS IN COUNTIES OTHER THAN FRANKLIN

Every county in Ohio has a court which handles adoptions.  In most Ohio counties, adoptions are handled in Probate Court.  The attorneys at the Law Offices of Virginia C. Cornwell travel to many of Ohio’s 88 counties to serve our clients.    We understand adoption, and our knowledge extends across county lines, state lines and international borders.  Virginia Cornwell is both an attorney and adoptive parent.  We have experience with private adoptions, step-parent adoptions, adoptions from a child in the custody of Children’s Services, and international adoptions.  While the filing fees differ from County to County, adoption is based on STATE law and STATE requirements.  Let us help you build your family.

The information provided in this web site is applicable in the state of Ohio and is provided as a public service. While Adam Barney and Virginia Cornwell are Ohio Adoption Attorneys, Columbus Ohio Divorce Lawyers, Ohio Bankruptcy Attorneys, Ohio Custody Attorneys, Ohio Grandparents Rights Attorneys, and International Family Law Attorneys in the State of Ohio, viewing the information in this web site does not constitute an attorney-client communication, and acting upon information obtained from this web site does not create an attorney-client relationship. If you would like to discuss the application of the law to your fact situation, or if you would like additional information, please call the Law Offices of Virginia C. Cornwell at 614-225-9316 to schedule a consultation

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