[sadiegirl]

Hello all,

I wanted to post this to the Ohio forum but this one seems to be busier. I am confused as to Ohio's revocation of consent, i.e how long does the bparents have to change their minds?

Here's what I found:
REVOCATION OF CONSENT: § 3107.084
• A consent is irrevocable except if consent is withdrawn prior to the:
- interlocutory order
- entry of the final decree when no other order has been entered after a hearing that finds withdrawal is in the best interest of the adoptee.
??????????????????????????????
What does that mean?

Finalization in Ohio is 6 mos. Does this mean they have 6 mos to change their mind?
Thanks!

[milce]

I hope I can help you. We are from Ohio. There are two different rules when it comes to revocation. If you are going privately, through an attorney, there is a 30 day period after the papers are signed, but, as this is not the route we are going, I am not really sure how it works. On the other hand, if you are going through an agency, as we are, there is no revocation period. Permanent surrenders are signed as early as 72 hours after the baby is born. Once the papers are signed, that's it. That is, of course, assuming that everyone is behaving as they should and there is no coersion involved.

It is unfortunate, the Ohio permanent surrender papers are really vague, and don't seem to convey the importance that they hold. Our agency has a separate paper that the birthparents sign that is more blunt and outright in its language. While it is hard to read, it more adequately conveys the gravity of the decision.

Maybe someone else here can help more with the private surrender aspects.

Carmen

[cathy102]

My best friend lives in Ohio and adopted in Ohio. The birthmom couldn't change her mind after the 72 hours..

Cathy

[sadiegirl]

How long ago did these adoptions take place?

The reason I ask is in the CIG to Adoption book it says rev. of consent is 6 mos! (Although, I just checked the copyright of the book and it's 1998!)

So 72 hrs is the current law (unless there's coercion?) I also didn't realize that it mattered whether you used atty or agy. We are using a private agy.

Thanks for the info!
Tina

[79nic]

Tina,

72 hours is how long the bmom has to wait to sign the relinquishment papers (not how long the revocation period is).

Here's the timeline:

Birth

72 hours after birth--bmom can sign the papers relinquishing her rights

If an agency was involved--bmom CANNOT change her mind once the papers were signed. If it was just done through an attorney--bmom has 30 days to change her mind. (This is according to the other posters.... doublecheck this with whatever adoption professional you use.)

After the parents rights are terminated, there is a waiting period until the adoption can be finalized--probably 6 months (that's probably what the CIG book means).

Adoption finalization.

[goin'batty]

Hey, Tina. We are almost done with our six month waiting period here in Ohio. Our finalization is in October, yeah! Anyway, we used an agency, so that's what I know. The bparents can not sign before the 72 hours after birth, but once they sign, their parental rights are terminated. It is six months after that, that the adoption can become final. Basically the six months is just to make sure that everything is working okay, you like being parents, the social worker thinks you're good at being parents, etc. I've enjoyed our six months since we get to show off the baby to our social worker.

Hope that helps.

[taggrr2]

We adopted in OH in 1998 with an attorney. At the time, it was my understanding that once permanent surrenders were signed, even with an atty, they were irrevocable. Of course, we had to wait the 30 days for putative registry clearance.

I would double check to see if it really matters whether it is an agency or atty adoption.

What part of OH are you in?

[Volfe]

Actually many states have laws for agencies (and therefore state adoptions) and laws for private / independent adoptions through an atty.

The head of Adoptions at DHS in Mississippi confirmed this for me and said lobbying was in the works but that was all. Here in MS a lot of corrupt practices are 'protected' by a lack of legislation.

Anyway, law is sometimes influenced by case law. A good site I've found is adoptionlawsite.com You must register to get info but they will only send you email if you request it, and it is currents news on adoption lists.
The site has a drop down menu to choose your state and another menu where you can choose if you want the state statutes or case law or just summaries.

If you really want to know i''d recommend calling a few atty's however, you could read the entire state law chapter. If there is a revocation period it should be listed under that information. Yoiu can search for 'revocation'

I research quite a bit and know that often in agency adoptions, when you sign the papers the custody of the child goes to the agency. Some states allow a revocation period for this. In private adoption there may or may not be a revocation period. In some states it is longer than for agencies. Regardless, all adoptions are contestable, and in MS you have up to 6 months after finalization for that (just saying the laws allow for all that).

Check out that site, it is pretty informative. And as a researcher of many things, I got a lot from it.

Maia