Legal Options for Relative Caregivers: Open Adoption with Agreements

Options for Relative Caregivers

1. Adoption (in all states)
2. Guardianship (in all states)
3. Legal Custody (in all states)
4. Open Adoption with Agreements (in some states)
5. De Facto Custodian (in some states)
6. Permanent Guardianship (in some states)
7. Standby Guardianship (in some states)
8. Subsidized Guardianship (in some states)
9. Medical & Educational Consent (in some states)

These laws allow the parties to enter into an enforceable agreement that sets forth terms (type, frequency and duration) for post-adoption contact. A few state laws provide only for non-binding agreements. The laws that provide for enforceable agreements specify that violation of the agreement does not invalidate the adoption. (Guide Note: Some apply to all adoptions, some only to older child adoptions, some require consent of the agency, others encourage mediation, others have no provisions for enforcement, and so on.)

Alaska: (code to be added)
Arizona: AZ Stat. 8-116.01
California: CA Family Code 8714.7 (kinship adoptions)
Florida: FL Stat. 39.811(7)(b)
Indiana: IN Code 31-19-16
Maryland: MD Family Law Code 5.312(e)
Massachusetts: MA Stat Ch. 210, 6C and 6D
Minnesota: MN Stat. 259.58
Missouri: (non-binding) Montana: MT Code 42-5-301
Nebraska: NE Revised Stat. 43: 162-165
New Mexico: NM Stat. 32A-5-35
New York: NY Social Services Law 383-c 5 (b)
Ohio: OH Code 3107.62 - 3107.65 (non-binding agreements)
Oregon: OR Revised Stat. 109.305
Rhode Island: RI Gen. Laws 15-7-14.1
South Dakota: (code to be added)
Tennessee: TN Code 36-1-121(f) (non-binding agreements)
Washington: WA Code 26.33.295
West Virginia: WV Code 48-4-12

Source: Generations United, one of the premier Web resources for grandparents and other relative caregivers. Copyright 2002, Generations United. Reprinted with permission of Generations United http://www.gu.org

© 2002 Generations United