Title
Title
Rules and Forms | Family Law: Adoption Forms
(Action Required)
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Summary
Summary
The Family and Juvenile Law Advisory Committee recommends adopting one new form and revising six forms to simplify, clarify, and provide additional guidance necessary during the adoption process for all adopting parents, and their counsel, if represented. The committee further recommends revising the adoption request form to conform to Assembly Bill 1650 (Patterson; Stats. 2023, ch.76), which requires that the petitioner inform the court, in writing, whether the petitioner has entered, or has agreed to enter, into a postadoption contact agreement.
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Recommendation
Recommendation
The Family and Juvenile Law Advisory Committee recommends that the Judicial Council, effective July 1, 2025:
1. Adopt Stepparent Adoption Request (form ADOPT-203) as an adoption request form to be used only for stepparent adoptions and stepparent adoptions to confirm parentage;
2. Revise How to Adopt a Child in California (form ADOPT-050-INFO) to clarify the specific procedures necessary to finalize distinct types of adoptions, provide additional information and links to adoption resources available on the Self-Help Guide to the California Courts, and reference the new separate form for stepparent adoptions;
3. Revise Adoption Request (form ADOPT-200) to remove items related solely to the stepparent adoption process and reconfigure the section on consents and termination of parental rights;
4. Revise Adoption Agreement (form ADOPT-210) to clarify where an adopting stepparent should sign this form and to include language for adopting parents’ signatures added during a remote hearing;
5. Revise Adoption Order (form ADOPT-215) to include proper notification language and to clarify language pertaining to adoptions where a parent or parents maintain their parental rights;
6. Revise Adoption Expenses (form ADOPT-230) to add instructions regarding which costs should be listed and remove expense categories to allow filers to comply with Family Code section 8610, which requires the itemization of each payment, not each type of service; and
7. Revise Contact After Adoption Agreement (form ADOPT-310) to add language referring to all types of siblings who could potentially be a party to the agreement and include instructions indicating that a copy of the agreement must be provided to all adult parties within 30 days.
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Speakers
Speakers
Hon. Tari L. Cody, Cochair, Family and Juvenile Law Advisory Committee
Ms. Abby Frost Lucha, Family Law Facilitator, Superior Court of Marin County
Ms. Kerry Doyle, Center for Families, Children & the Courts