Although Tel-Law information is periodically reviewed, it is important for you to realize that changes may occur in this area of law. This information is not intended to be legal advice regarding your particular problem, and it is not intended to replace the work of an attorney.

If you do not have an attorney, the Oregon State Bar Lawyer Referral Service can help you. Online Lawyer Referral Service information and a fill-in form is available. Or you may contact the service by phone: The number to call from the Portland area is 503-684-3763 or toll-free from anywhere else in Oregon, 1-800-452-7636.

The following information regarding adoptions is brought to you as a public service by the lawyers of the State of Oregon. The material presented is intended to alert you to possible legal problems and solutions.

The act of adopting a child establishes a parent-child relationship between a child and an adult or adults who are not the biological parents. An adoptive parent takes on the same rights and responsibilities as the biological parent. The most common kind of adoption is adoption by a stepparent of a child who is the biological child of the stepparent’s spouse. The other usual kind of adoption is adoption of a child by a single person or a couple who are unrelated to the child in any way. Because both kinds of adoption affect important parental rights, these cases can be procedurally complicated. Getting competent legal advice for this kind of proceeding is strongly advised. Special legal rules apply if the child who is being adopted is of Native American Indian descent.

In Oregon, anyone may petition the court for permission to adopt another person.

In a case petitioning to adopt a minor child, the court will not rule on the petition for at least 90 days after it is filed. During this time, either the Department of Human Services (DHS) or a licensed adoption agency will gather information for an adoption study for the use of the court. The court will need to know about the adoptive parents, including their mental and physical health, background, criminal history, and ability to provide the child with a good home. This study is not necessary in the case of a step-parent adoption.

In cases for adoption of a child, it is usually necessary to get the written consent of both parents of the child. If neither parent is living, consent must be obtained from the guardian of the child, or the next of kin in this state if the child has no living parents or guardian. If there is no one who can give consent, the court may appoint some suitable person to give or withhold consent. A child who is fourteen years of age or older also must consent to his or her own adoption.

If legal custody of the child has been awarded to one of the parents in a divorce, and the new spouse of the custodial parent wants to adopt the child, the parent who does not have legal custody may oppose the adoption, withhold consent, and go to court to tell why.

If a parent has deserted or neglected a child for one year before the filing of the petition, the court can allow the adoption despite that parent’s objection. If either parent is mentally ill or mentally deficient and remains so at the time of the adoption, that person’s consent may not be required. The same is true if the parent is in a state or federal prison with a sentence of not less than three years and has actually served three years. In this situation, the court can allow the adoption despite that parent’s objection.

If the parents of the child have placed the child for adoption with DHS or a licensed child-caring agency in Oregon, then it may consent to an adoption. DHS also may do this when the court has permanently terminated the parental rights of the parents and assigned guardianship of the child to DHS.

If a mother of a child she wants to give up for adoption was married at the time of conception or on the birth of the child, the husband’s consent is usually necessary. His consent is not needed if a court has ruled that the husband is not the father of the child.

Except in the case of a stepparent adoption, the court is entitled to medical histories of the child and the biological parents. The names of the biological parents are not included in the medical history. The histories will be given by the court to the adoptive parents and also to the adoptee on request after he or she reaches the age of 18.

The court may order the change of name of the adopted person and require that a new birth certificate be issued. If the court is satisfied that the adoption is proper, it issues a judgment ordering that the child is the child of the petitioners.

When a person to be adopted is eighteen years old or is legally married, that person's written consent to the adoption may be sufficient without the consent of any other person.

Adoptees born in Oregon age 21 and over can get information about obtaining their original birth certificates from the Adoptions Services Unit at the Department of Human Services, 500 Summer Street NE, Salem, Oregon 97301-1076. Birth parents may fill out a Contact Preference Form, indicating their desire for contact or no contact, and can provide medical information to the same address. Information for adoptees and birth parents is also available online at www.oregon.gov/DHS.

This information is from the Oregon State Bar's Tel-law service, a collection of recorded legal information messages prepared by the lawyers of Oregon. In addition to being online, the Tel-law service is accessible by telephone at 503-620-3000 or toll-free in Oregon only, 1-800-452-4776. A touch tone phone allows direct access 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. To receive a free Tel-law brochure listing the subjects available call 503-620-0222, ext. 0.