Representative Merrill F. Nelson proposes the following substitute bill:


1     
ADOPTION AMENDMENTS

2     
2021 GENERAL SESSION

3     
STATE OF UTAH

4     
Chief Sponsor: Merrill F. Nelson

5     
Senate Sponsor: Todd D. Weiler

6     

7     LONG TITLE
8     General Description:
9          This bill amends and enacts provisions relating to adoption.
10     Highlighted Provisions:
11          This bill:
12          ▸     clarifies that a new birth certificate may be issued after the adoption of an adult;
13          ▸     allows an attorney in the adoption or the child-placing agency to be provided the
14     adoption report;
15          ▸     allows the attorney in the adoption or the child-placing agency to take the adoption
16     report to the state registrar;
17          ▸     clarifies that a new birth certificate may be issued for a foreign-born individual who
18     is adopted as an adult;
19          ▸     allows the spouse of a preexisting parent to adopt a child after the child's death;
20          ▸     if a child-placing agency placed a child for adoption, provides that the child-placing
21     agency file an affidavit regarding fees and expenses with the Office of Licensing
22     within the Department of Human Services; and
23          ▸     makes technical and conforming changes.
24     Money Appropriated in this Bill:
25          None
26     Other Special Clauses:
27          None
28     Utah Code Sections Affected:
29     AMENDS:
30          26-2-10, as last amended by Laws of Utah 2015, Chapter 137
31          26-2-25, as last amended by Laws of Utah 1995, Chapter 202
32          26-2-28, as last amended by Laws of Utah 2008, Chapter 3
33          78B-6-115, as last amended by Laws of Utah 2015, Chapter 137
34          78B-6-120.1, as enacted by Laws of Utah 2013, Chapter 458
35          78B-6-136.5, as last amended by Laws of Utah 2012, Chapter 340
36          78B-6-140, as last amended by Laws of Utah 2012, Chapter 340
37     

38     Be it enacted by the Legislature of the state of Utah:
39          Section 1. Section 26-2-10 is amended to read:
40          26-2-10. Supplementary certificate of birth.
41          [(1) Any person born in this state who is legitimized by the subsequent marriage of the
42     person's natural parents, or whose parentage has been determined by any U.S. state court or
43     Canadian provincial court having jurisdiction, or who has been legally adopted under the law
44     of this or any other state or any province of Canada, may request the state registrar to register a
45     supplementary birth certificate on the basis of that status.]
46          (1) An individual born in this state may request the state registrar to register a
47     supplementary birth certificate for the individual if:
48          (a) the individual is legitimized by the subsequent marriage of the individual's natural
49     parents;
50          (b) the individual's parentage has been determined by a state court of the United States
51     or a Canadian provincial court with jurisdiction; or
52          (c) the individual has been legally adopted, as a child or as an adult, under the law of
53     this state, any other state, or any province of Canada.
54          (2) The application for registration of a supplementary birth certificate may be made
55     by:
56          (a) the [person] individual requesting registration[,] under Subsection (1) if the
57     [person] individual is of legal age[, by];
58          (b) a legal representative[, or by]; or
59          (c) any agency authorized to receive children for placement or adoption under the laws
60     of this or any other state.
61          (3) (a) The state registrar shall require that an applicant submit identification and proof
62     according to department rules.
63          (b) In the case of an adopted [person] individual, that proof may be established by
64     order of the court in which the adoption proceedings were held.
65          (4) (a) After the supplementary birth certificate is registered, any information disclosed
66     from the record shall be from the supplementary birth certificate.
67          (b) Access to the original birth certificate and to the evidence submitted in support of
68     the supplementary birth certificate are not open to inspection except upon the order of a Utah
69     district court or [as provided under] as described in Section 78B-6-141 or Section 78B-6-144.
70          Section 2. Section 26-2-25 is amended to read:
71          26-2-25. Divorce or adoption -- Duty of court clerk to file certificates or reports.
72          (1) [(a)] For each adoption, annulment of adoption, divorce, and annulment of marriage
73     ordered or decreed in this state, the clerk of the court shall prepare a divorce certificate or
74     report of adoption on a form furnished by the state registrar.
75          (2) The petitioner shall provide the information necessary to prepare the certificate or
76     report [when he files the petition with the clerk] under Subsection (1).
77          [(b)] (3) The clerk shall:
78          (a) prepare the certificate or report [and, immediately after the decree or order becomes
79     final, shall] under Subsection (1); and
80          (b) complete the remaining entries for the certificate or report immediately after the
81     decree or order becomes final.
82          (4) On or before the 15th day of each month, the clerk shall forward the divorce
83     certificates and reports of adoption under Subsection (1) completed by [him] the clerk during
84     the preceding month to the state registrar.
85          [(2) If there is filed with the clerk of the court in an adoption proceeding a written
86     consent to adoption by an agency licensed under the laws of the state to receive children for
87     placement or adoption, the agency by its authorized representative shall prepare and complete
88     the report of adoption and forward it to the state registrar immediately after entry of the decree
89     of adoption.]
90          (5) (a) A report of adoption under Subsection (1) may be provided to the attorney who
91     is providing representation of a party to the adoption or the child-placing agency, as defined in
92     Section 78B-6-103, that is placing the child.
93          (b) If a report of adoption is provided to the attorney or the child-placing agency, as
94     defined in Section 78B-6-103, the attorney or the child-placing agency shall immediately
95     provide the report of adoption to the state registrar.
96          Section 3. Section 26-2-28 is amended to read:
97          26-2-28. Birth certificate for foreign adoptees.
98          Upon presentation of a court order of adoption and an order establishing the fact, time,
99     and place of birth under Section 26-2-15, the department shall prepare a birth certificate for
100     [any person] an individual who:
101          (1) was adopted under the laws of this state; and
102          (2) was at the time of adoption, as a child or as an adult, considered an alien child or
103     adult for whom the court received documentary evidence of [legal residence] lawful admission
104     under Section 78B-6-108.
105          Section 4. Section 78B-6-115 is amended to read:
106          78B-6-115. Who may adopt -- Adoption of minor -- Adoption of adult.
107          (1) [For purposes of] As used in this section, "vulnerable adult" means:
108          (a) [a person 65 years of age] an individual who is 65 years old or older; or
109          (b) an adult[, 18 years of age] who is 18 years old or older, and who has a mental or
110     physical impairment [which] that substantially affects that [person's] adult's ability to:
111          (i) provide personal protection;
112          (ii) provide necessities such as food, shelter, clothing, or medical or other health care;
113          (iii) obtain services necessary for health, safety, or welfare;
114          (iv) carry out the activities of daily living;
115          (v) manage the adult's own resources; or
116          (vi) comprehend the nature and consequences of remaining in a situation of abuse,
117     neglect, or exploitation.
118          (2) Subject to this section and Section 78B-6-117, any adult may be adopted by another
119     adult.
120          (3) The following provisions of this part apply to the adoption of an adult just as
121     though the [person] individual being adopted were a minor:
122          (a) (i) Section 78B-6-108;
123          (ii) Section 78B-6-114;
124          (iii) Section 78B-6-116;
125          (iv) Section 78B-6-118;
126          (v) Section 78B-6-124;
127          (vi) Section 78B-6-136;
128          (vii) Section 78B-6-137;
129          (viii) Section 78B-6-138;
130          (ix) Section 78B-6-139;
131          (x) Section 78B-6-141; and
132          (xi) Section 78B-6-142;
133          (b) Subsections [78B-6-105(1)(a), (1)(b)(i), (1)(b)(ii), (2), and (7)] 78B-6-105(1)(a)(i),
134     (1)(a)(ii)(A), (1)(a)(ii)(C), (1)(a)(ii)(D), (1)(b), (2), and (7), except that the juvenile court does
135     not have jurisdiction over a proceeding for adoption of an adult, unless the adoption arises from
136     a case where the juvenile court has continuing jurisdiction over the mature adoptee; and
137          (c) if the mature adoptee is a vulnerable adult, Sections 78B-6-128 through 78B-6-131,
138     regardless of whether the mature adoptee resides, or will reside, with the [adoptors] adopters,
139     unless the court, based on a finding of good cause, waives the requirements of those sections.
140          (4) Before a court enters a final decree of adoption of a mature adoptee, the mature
141     adoptee and the prospective adoptive parent or parents shall appear before the court presiding
142     over the adoption [proceedings] proceeding and execute consent to the adoption.
143          (5) No provision of this part, other than those listed or described in this section or
144     Section 78B-6-117, apply to the adoption of an adult.
145          Section 5. Section 78B-6-120.1 is amended to read:
146          78B-6-120.1. Implied consent.
147          (1) [(a)] As used in this section[, "abandonment"]:
148          (a) "Abandonment" means failure of a father, with reasonable knowledge of the
149     pregnancy, to offer and provide financial and emotional support to the birth mother for a period
150     of six months before the day on which the adoptee is born.
151          (b) "Emotional support" means a pattern of statements or actions that indicate to a
152     reasonable person that a father intends to provide for the physical and emotional well-being of
153     an unborn child.
154          [(b)] (2) (a) A court may not determine that a father abandoned the birth mother if the
155     father failed to provide financial or emotional support because the birth mother refused to
156     accept support.
157          [(2) (a) As used in this section, "emotional support" means a pattern of statements or
158     actions that indicate to a reasonable person that a father intends to provide for the physical and
159     emotional well-being of an unborn child.]
160          (b) A court may not find that a father failed to provide emotional support if the father's
161     failure was due to impossibility of performance.
162          (3) Consent or relinquishment, as required by Subsection 78B-6-120(1), may be
163     implied by any of the following acts:
164          (a) abandonment;
165          (b) leaving the adoptee with a third party, without providing the third party with the
166     parent's identification, for 30 consecutive days;
167          (c) knowingly leaving the adoptee with another person, without providing for support,
168     communicating, or otherwise maintaining a substantial relationship with the adoptee, for six
169     consecutive months; or
170          (d) receiving notification of a pending adoption proceeding under Subsection
171     78B-6-110(6) or of a termination proceeding under Section 78B-6-112 and failing to respond
172     as required.
173          (4) Implied consent under Subsection (3)[(a)] may not be withdrawn.
174          (5) Nothing in this section negates the requirements of Section 78B-6-121 or
175     78B-6-122 for an unmarried biological father.
176          Section 6. Section 78B-6-136.5 is amended to read:
177          78B-6-136.5. Timing of entry of final decree of adoption -- Posthumous adoption.
178          (1) Except as provided in Subsection (2), a final decree of adoption may not be entered
179     until the earlier of:
180          (a) when the child has lived in the home of the prospective adoptive parent for six
181     months; or
182          (b) when the child has been placed for adoption with the prospective adoptive parent
183     for six months.
184          (2) (a) If the prospective adoptive parent is the spouse of the [pre-existing] preexisting
185     parent, a final decree of adoption may not be entered until the child has lived in the home of
186     that prospective adoptive parent for one year, unless, based on a finding of good cause, the
187     court orders that the final decree of adoption may be entered at an earlier time.
188          (b) The court may, based on a finding of good cause, order that the final decree of
189     adoption be entered at an earlier time than described in Subsection (1).
190          (3) [If the child dies during the time that the child is placed in the home of a
191     prospective adoptive parent or parents for the purpose of adoption, the] The court has authority
192     to enter a final decree of adoption after [the] a child's death upon the request of the prospective
193     adoptive parent or parents[.] of the child if:
194          (a) the child dies during the time that the child is placed in the home of a prospective
195     adoptive parent or parents for the purpose of adoption; or
196          (b) the prospective adoptive parent is the spouse of a preexisting parent of the child and
197     the child lived with the prospective adoptive parent before the child's death.
198          [(4) The court may enter a final decree of adoption declaring that a child is adopted by
199     both a deceased and a surviving adoptive parent if, after the child is placed in the home of the
200     child's prospective adoptive parents:]
201          [(a) one of the prospective adoptive parents dies;]
202          [(b) the surviving prospective adoptive parent requests that the court enter the decree;
203     and]
204          [(c) the decree is entered after the child has lived in the home of the surviving
205     prospective adoptive parent for at least six months.]
206          (4) The court may enter a final decree of adoption declaring that a child is adopted by:
207          (a) both a deceased and a surviving adoptive parent if after the child is placed in the
208     home of the child's prospective adoptive parents:
209          (i) one of the prospective adoptive parents dies;
210          (ii) the surviving prospective adoptive parent requests that the court enter the decree;
211     and
212          (iii) the decree is entered after the child has lived in the home of the surviving
213     prospective adoptive parent for at least six months; or
214          (b) a spouse of a preexisting parent if after the child has lived with the spouse of the
215     preexisting parent:
216          (i) the preexisting parent, or the spouse of preexisting parent, dies;
217          (ii) the preexisting parent, or the spouse of the preexisting parent, requests that the
218     court enter the decree; and
219          (iii) the child has lived in the same home as the spouse of the preexisting parent for at
220     least one year.
221          (5) Upon request of a surviving [pre-existing] preexisting parent, or a surviving parent
222     for whom adoption of a child has been finalized, the court may enter a final decree of adoption
223     declaring that a child is adopted by a deceased adoptive parent who was the spouse of the
224     surviving parent at the time of the prospective adoptive parent's death.
225          (6) The court may enter a final decree of adoption declaring that a child is adopted by
226     both deceased prospective adoptive parents if:
227          (a) both of the prospective adoptive parents die after the child is placed in the
228     prospective adoptive parents' home; and
229          (b) it is in the best interests of the child to enter the decree.
230          (7) Nothing in this section shall be construed to grant any rights to the [pre-existing]
231     preexisting parents of a child to assert any interest in the child during the six-month or one-year
232     periods described in this section.
233          Section 7. Section 78B-6-140 is amended to read:
234          78B-6-140. Itemization of fees and expenses.
235          (1) Except as provided in Subsection (4), [prior to] before the date that a final decree of
236     adoption is entered, an affidavit regarding fees and expenses, signed by the prospective
237     adoptive parent or parents and the person or agency placing the child, shall be filed with the
238     court.
239          (2) The affidavit described in Subsection (1) shall itemize the following items in
240     connection with the adoption:
241          (a) all legal expenses, maternity expenses, medical or hospital expenses, and living
242     expenses that have been or will be paid to or on behalf of the [pre-existing] preexisting parents
243     of the child, including the source of payment;
244          (b) fees paid by the prospective adoptive parent or parents in connection with the
245     adoption;
246          (c) all gifts, property, or other items that have been or will be provided to the
247     [pre-existing] preexisting parents, including the source of the gifts, property, or other items;
248          (d) all public funds used for any medical or hospital costs in connection with the:
249          (i) pregnancy;
250          (ii) delivery of the child; or
251          (iii) care of the child;
252          (e) the state of residence of the:
253          (i) birth mother or the [pre-existing] preexisting parents; and
254          (ii) prospective adoptive parent or parents;
255          (f) a description of services provided to the prospective adoptive parents or
256     [pre-existing] preexisting parents in connection with the adoption; and
257          (g) that Section 76-7-203 has not been violated.
258          (3) [A] If a child-placing agency, that is licensed by this state, placed the child, a copy
259     of the affidavit described in Subsection (1) shall be provided to the Office of Licensing within
260     the Department of Human Services.
261          (4) This section does not apply if the prospective adoptive parent is the legal spouse of
262     a [pre-existing] preexisting parent.