There are specific time frames for the setting of the hearing on an adoption petition.1 Thus, it is helpful to the clerk and the court if your order complies with these time frames. The court must hear the petition within 60 days if there is no opposition or within 90 days if there is opposition.2 This time may be extended up to 60 days for good cause or reduced to a minimum of 15 days with written approval of DCFS and the petitioner.3
La. Ch.C. art. 1253 requires that the court consider specific facts and evidence:
- Any motion to intervene which has been filed.
- Any other issues in dispute.
- The confidential report of the department, if any.
- The report of any criminal records concerning the petitioner, including the nature of the offenses, the number of offenses, and the length of time between the offenses and between the last offense committed and the petition for intrafamily adoption. The existence of a criminal record of the petitioner shall not be automatic grounds for the court to refuse to grant an intrafamily adoption.
- The report of any validated complaints of child abuse or neglect concerning the petitioner.
- The testimony of the parties.4
Remember to bring the child or children to court with you. If the child is 12 years of age or older, the court must solicit and consider the child’s wishes regarding the adoption.5 However, even when the children are younger, most judges like the children present. You may also want to bring a camera to memorialize the occasion for the family.6 Of all the good work family law attorneys do in court, this may be one of the most fulfilling moments in court for everyone.
After the adoption hearing, the court may enter a final decree of adoption or it may deny the adoption.7 The “basic consideration” is the child’s best interest.8 In cases in which either the child’s grandparents or a parent married to a stepparent petitioner has already been granted custody, there is a rebuttable presumption that the adoption is in the child’s best interest.9