In general, parents must consent to the adoption of their child.1 A parent can execute an authentic act consenting to the adoption of his or her child in an intrafamily adoption.2 In the case of adoption by a petitioner married to the parent, the parent must join in the petition if the child was born outside of marriage.3 But, if the child was born of marriage, the parent married to the stepparent petitioner may consent by authentic act.4
However, consent is not required if the following can be proven by clear and convincing evidence:
B. When a petitioner authorized by Article 1243 has been granted custody of the child by a court of competent jurisdiction and any one of the following conditions exists:
- The parent has refused or failed to comply with a court order of support without just cause for a period of at least six months.
- The parent has refused or failed to visit, communicate, or attempt to communicate with the child without just cause for a period of at least six months.
C. When the spouse of a stepparent petitioner has been granted sole or joint custody of the child by a court of competent jurisdiction or is otherwise exercising lawful custody of the child and any one of the following conditions exists:
- The other parent has refused or failed to comply with a court order of support without just cause for a period of at least six months.
- The other parent has refused or failed to visit, communicate, or attempt to communicate with the child without just cause for a period of at least six months.5
Be wary of a client who states that because no father is listed on the birth certificate, she does not know who the father is. It may take some “prodding” and an explanation of the inherent problems of due process before you get a name(s). It is always a safer practice to have a curator appointed when the biological father’s identity is known, but his whereabouts are unknown.6