Also known as: Uniform Adoption Acts · UAA
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
A model statute promulgated to promote uniformity among state adoption laws by supplying jurisdictional rules and procedural standards for adoption proceedings. Most states fill the jurisdictional gap left by the UCCJEA exclusion of adoption either by incorporating the UAA provisions or by extending the UCCJEA to cover adoption petitions.
Unity Underhill directs a nonprofit from its County C headquarters but maintains her only home in County D. She files an adoption petition in County C for a child she met through the nonprofit. The court dismisses the petition because state law requires the petitioner to reside in the filing county and Underhill has no dwelling there.
Ugo Uberti, an unmarried father with physical custody of his child, objects when the mother consents to adoption by her new spouse. The court applies the UAA consent framework and grants Uberti standing because he has acted as the child's primary caregiver, blocking the adoption without his agreement.
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The 1994 version was adopted in only one state and earlier versions reached only a handful of jurisdictions before being withdrawn. States instead amend their own statutes or borrow selected UAA jurisdictional provisions to fill the gap left by the UCCJEA.
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It supplies alternative bases including the petitioner's residence, the child's residence, or the location of an agency having custody. Most states either incorporate these rules or extend the UCCJEA to adoption to avoid a jurisdictional void.
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Yes. Consent executed more than eight days after birth is generally irrevocable, while consent given within that window may be revoked within 192 hours under the model act.
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The model act and most state statutes require the petitioner to be a resident of the county where the petition is filed. Courts enforce this rule strictly because adoption jurisdiction is purely statutory.
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…is acting as the guardian of the child, e. g. , In re Erhardt , 27 App. Div. 2d 836, 277 N. Y. S. 2d 734 (1967). Moreover, the Uniform Adoption Act, after which the New York statute appears to be patterned, has a similar section that its drafters intended to benefit "a father having custody of his illegitimate minor child." Uniform…