Section 8801.3 Of Chapter 3. Independent Adoptions From California Family Law Code >> Division 13. >> Part 2. >> Chapter 3.
8801.3
. A child shall not be considered to have been placed for
adoption unless each of the following is true:
(a) Each birth parent placing the child for adoption has been
advised of his or her rights, and if desired, has been counseled
pursuant to Section 8801.5.
(b) The adoption service provider, each prospective adoptive
parent, and each birth parent placing the child have signed an
adoption placement agreement on a form prescribed by the department.
The signing of the agreement shall satisfy all of the following
requirements:
(1) Each birth parent shall have been advised of his or her rights
pursuant to Section 8801.5 at least 10 days before signing the
agreement, unless the adoption service provider finds exigent
circumstances that shall be set forth in the adoption placement
agreement.
(2) The agreement may not be signed by either the birth parents or
the prospective adoptive parents until the time of discharge of the
birth mother from the hospital. However, if the birth mother remains
hospitalized for a period longer than the hospitalization of the
child, the agreement may be signed by all parties at the time of or
after the child's discharge from the hospital but prior to the birth
mother's discharge from the hospital if her competency to sign is
verified by her attending physician and surgeon before she signs the
agreement.
(3) The birth parents and prospective adoptive parents shall sign
the agreement in the presence of an adoption service provider.
(4) The adoption service provider who witnesses the signatures
shall keep the original of the adoption placement agreement and
immediately forward it and supporting documentation as required by
the department to the department or delegated county adoption agency.
(5) The child is not deemed to be placed for adoption with the
prospective adoptive parents until the adoption placement agreement
has been signed and witnessed.
(6) If the birth parent is not located in this state or country,
the adoption placement agreement shall be signed before an adoption
service provider or, for purposes of identification of the birth
parent only, before a notary or other person authorized to perform
notarial acts in the state or country in which the birth parent is
located. This paragraph is not applicable to intercountry adoptions,
as defined in Section 8527, which shall be governed by Chapter 4
(commencing with Section 8900).
(c) The adoption placement agreement form shall include all of the
following:
(1) A statement that the birth parent received the advisement of
rights and the date upon which it was received.
(2) A statement that the birth parent understands that the
placement is for the purpose of adoption and that if the birth parent
takes no further action, on the 31st day after signing the adoption
placement agreement, the agreement shall become a permanent and
irrevocable consent to the adoption.
(3) A statement that the birth parent signs the agreement having
personal knowledge of certain facts regarding the prospective
adoptive parents as provided in Section 8801.
(4) A statement that the adoptive parents have been informed of
the basic health and social history of the birth parents.
(5) A consent to the adoption that may be revoked as provided by
Section 8814.5.
(d) The adoption placement agreement shall also meet the
requirements of the Interstate Compact on the Placement of Children
in Section 7901.
(e) This section shall become operative on January 1, 1995.