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Vt. Stat. tit. 15A § 2-406
Vermont
Statutes
Title
Fifteen (A). Adoption Act
Aarticle
2. Adoption of Minors
Part
4. Consent to and Relinquishment for Adoption
§
2-406 Content of consent or relinquishment
(a) A consent or relinquishment
required from a parent or guardian under this title shall be in writing
and contain, in plain English or, if the native language of the parent
or guardian is a language other than English, in that language:
(1) the name, date of
birth, and current mailing address of the individual executing the consent
or relinquishment;
(2) the date of birth
and the name of the minor adoptee;
(3) if a consent, the
name, address, and telephone number of the attorney representing the prospective
adoptive parent with whom the individual executing the
consent has placed or intends to place the minor for adoption;
(4) if a relinquishment,
the name, address, and telephone number of the agency to which the minor
is being relinquished;
(5) specific instructions
as to how to revoke the consent or relinquishment and how to commence
an action to set it aside;
(6) the name and address
of the court, if known to the parent, in which the petition for adoption
has been or will be filed, or if unknown to the parent, the name and address
of a court in which a motion to set aside a consent on the ground of fraud
or coercion may be filed.
(b) A consent shall state
that the parent or guardian executing the document is voluntarily and
unequivocally consenting to the transfer of legal and physical custody
to, and the adoption of the minor by, a specific adoptive parent whom
the parent or guardian has selected.
(c) A relinquishment shall
state that the individual executing the relinquishment voluntarily consents
to the permanent transfer of legal and physical
custody of the minor to the agency for the purposes of adoption.
(d) A consent or relinquishment
shall state:
(1) an understanding that
after the consent or relinquishment is executed in substantial compliance
with section 2-405 of this title, it is final and, except under a circumstance
stated in sections 2-408, 2-409 of this title, or subsection (e) of this
section may not be revoked or set aside for any reason, including the
failure of an adoptive parent to permit the individual executing the consent
or relinquishment to visit or communicate with the minor adoptee;
(2) an understanding that
the consent or relinquishment will extinguish all parental rights and
obligations the individual executing the consent or relinquishment has
with respect to the minor adoptee;
(3) an understanding that
the adoption will terminate completely every aspect of the legal relationship
between the adoptee and the person executing the consent or relinquishment
has with respect to the minor adoptee, except for arrearages of child
support, and will remain valid whether or not any agreement for visitation
or communication with the minor adoptee is later performed;
(4)
that the individual executing the consent or relinquishment has:
(A) received a copy of
the consent or relinquishment;
(B) been advised, if a
parent who is a minor, by an attorney who is not representing an adoptive
parent or the agency to which the minor adoptee is being relinquished,
or, if an adult, has been informed of the right to have an attorney who
is not representing an adoptive parent or the agency;
(C) been provided the
information described in subsection 2-404(e) of this title;
(D) been advised of the
obligation to provide the information required under section 2-105 of
this title;
(E) if a parent, understands
that personal counseling was available by a certified adoption counselor
or other counselor of his or her choice; and
(F) been informed that
it is in the best interest of the child to keep the court
or agency informed of his or her current address and any family health
problem which the parent develops or becomes aware of which could affect
the child, in order for the court or agency to respond to any inquiry
concerning the adoptee's medical or social history;
(5) that the individual
executing the consent or relinquishment has not received or been promised
any money or anything of value for the consent or the relinquishment,
except for payments authorized by Article 7 of this title that are itemized
on a schedule attached to the consent or relinquishment;
(6) that the minor is
or is not an Indian child as defined in the Indian Child Welfare Act,
25 U.S.C. Sections 1901 et seq.;
(7) that the individual
believes the adoption of the minor is in the minor's best interest;
(8) that the individual
who is consenting or relinquishing:
(A) does not waive notice
of any proceeding for adoption; or
(B)
waives notice of any proceeding for adoption; or
(C) waives notice unless
the adoption is contested, appealed or denied; and
(9) an understanding that
the adoption will make an order or agreement for visitation or communication
with the minor unenforceable; and
(10) for the purpose of
evaluating the reasonableness of reimbursement or expenses as provided
for in section 7-103 of this title, whether the individual executing the
consent or relinquishment has received any public assistance during the
last 12 months.
(e) A consent or relinquishment
may provide for its revocation if:
(1) another consent or
relinquishment is not executed within a specified period;
(2) a court decides not
to terminate another individual's parental relationship to the minor;
or
(3)
in a direct placement for adoption, a petition for adoption by a prospective
adoptive parent, named or described in the consent, is denied or withdrawn.
-- Added 1995, No. 161
(Adj. Sess.), § 1.
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