OHIO

 The following persons may adopt:

 (1) a husband and wife together, at least one of whom is an adult;

 (2) an unmarried adult;

 (3) a married adult, without the other spouse, if he or she is a stepparent,legally separated, or if failure of the other spouse to join is a result ofprolonged unexplained absence, unavailability, incapacity, or it is impossibleor unreasonably difficult to obtain her consent; and

 (4) the unmarried minor parent of the person to be adopted.

Who Can Be Adopted?

 Any minor can be adopted. An adult can be adopted if she or he is totally andpermanently disabled, is determined to be mentally retarded, or has establisheda child-fosterparent or child-stepparentrelationship with the adoptive parent.

Consent to Adoption

 The following parties must give their written consent to the adoption:

 (1) the mother of the minor adoptee;

 (2) the father of the minor adoptee, if the child was conceived or born whilethe father was married to the mother, if the child is his by adoption, or ifthe child is deemed to be his by a court;

 (3) any person or agency having permanent custody of the child or authorizedby court order to consent, or the court itself;

 (4) the adoptee if over 12 years of age, unless the court waives the adoptee'sconsent; and

 (5) the putative father if he

 alleges to be the father and has established a father-childrelationship with the adoptee at any time before the placement,

 has acknowledged the child in writing before the placement,

 has signed the birth certificate, or

 has filed an objection to the adoption before the placement.

 Consent is not required of the following people:

 (1) the parent who has failed without justifiable reason to communicate orprovide support for the adoptee for at least 1 year immediately before eitherthe filing of the adoption petition or the placement;

 (2) the putative father if he does not object within 30 days with the court orappropriate agency or the court finds that he is not the father of the child,that he has willfully abandoned or failed to care for and support the child, orthat he abandoned the mother during pregnancy;

 (3) a parent who has given up his or her right to consent;

 (4) a parent whose parental rights have been terminated;

 (5) a legal guardian or guardian ad litem of a parent judicially declaredincompetent, who has not responded to a request for consent for 30 days, or whois unreasonably withholding consent;

 (6) a legal guardian of the adoptee, who has not responded to a request forconsent for 30 days, or who is unreasonably withholding consent;

 (7) the spouse of the adoptee, if the spouse is withholding consent because ofprolonged absence, unavailability, incapacity, or circumstances make itimpossible or unreasonably difficult to obtain the spouse's consent; and

 (8) any parent or legal guardian in a foreign country if the adoptee has beenreleased for adoption within the laws of that country.

 Consent may take place any time 72 hours after the birth of the child. Theconsent is irrevocable and cannot be withdrawn after the final decree ofadoption has been entered. The consent may be withdrawn prior to the finaldecree if the court finds that it is in the best interest of the adoptee.

Confidentiality

 All adoption hearings shall be held in closed court. All records are subjectto inspection only upon a court order. The agency report made prior toadoption shall include the social and medical history of the biologicalparents. Only the adoptive parents shall have access to this information aboutthe biological parent, and the adoptee may have access to it when the adopteereaches adulthood.

 Any biological parent or biological sibling who wishes to release identifyinginformation shall file a release with the Department of Human Services. TheDepartment shall establish and maintain a file of these releases. Anybiological parent or sibling who files a release may withdraw it. Any adopteewho is 21 years of age or older may file a request for release of informationregarding the adoptee's biological parents and siblings.

Permissible Fees

 The adoptive parent shall file with the court a full statement of alldisbursements of anything of value in connection with the adoption. Theadoption parent may only make disbursements for the following: doctor expensesin connection with prenatal care or childbirth, hospital expenses in connectionwith childbirth, attorney's fees in connection with placement or to initiateand pursue the adoption, agency expenses in connection with placement of theadoptee, and temporary costs of maintenance and medical care of the adoptee.The court shall review all expenses made prior to the entry of any decree ofadoption. This section does not apply to an adoption by a stepparent whosespouse is a biological or adoptive parent of the minor.

Place of Adoption Hearing

 The adoption hearing can take place in the court where the adoptive parentlives, where the adoptee was born or currently lives, where the biologicalparents live, or where the child-placing agency that has custody of the adopteeis located.

 If the court finds in the interest of justice that the hearing should beheard in a different court, it may transfer the hearing.

Authority To Place Child

 Placement must be made by a county human services department that has achildren's services division, county children's services board, the Departmentof Human Services, an organization that is authorized to place children foradoption under a certificate of the Department of Human Services, or custodiansin a foreign state or country. (This information is found in Section5103.16.)

Relative Adoption

 A preadoption investigation required before placement in the adoptive parent'shome is not required when the adoptive parent is a stepparent or agrandparent.

Advertisements

 No person or entity that has not been certified by the division of socialadministration for the placement of children for adoption may advertise thatthey will adopt childdren.

State Law: FullText

Not available in electronic form at this time for this state, sorry.

Attorney ReferralService

Ohio State Bar Association
P.O. Box 6562
Columbus, OH 43216
(614) 487-2050

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