Massachusetts Adopiotn Statute and Law
Title III: Domestic Relations
Chapter 210: Adoption of children and Change of Names
Sections 1- 14
(This page was last updated on 09/10/13.)
Chapter 210, Section 1. Nature of adoption; district or juvenile court.
Chapter 210, Section 2. Written consent of certain persons; form of consent; identification of father.
Chapter 210, Section 2A. Decree of adoption; entry; conditions precedent.
Chapter 210: Section 2B Adoption decrees; mandatory language
Chapter 210, Section 3. Dispensing with required consent in certain cases.
Chapter 210, Section 3A. Repealed, 1972, 800, Sec. 3.
Chapter 210: Section 3B Registration of interest for pre-adoptive or adoptive placement; criminal record review
Chapter 210, Section 4. Notice.
Chapter 210, Section 4A. Fathers of children born out of wedlock; adoption rights.
Chapter 210, Section 5. Failure to object after notice; proceedings.
Chapter 210, Section 5A. Children under fourteen; adoption; regulations; removals.
Chapter 210, Section 5B. Adoptive custody; factors considered; request for religious designation.
Chapter 210, Section 5C. Inspection of pleadings, reports, etc.; docket book.
Chapter 210, Section 5D. Release of information concerning adoption.
Chapter 210: Section 5E Department of social services adoption report
Chapter 210, Section 6. Decree of court; force and effect; private hearings.
Chapter 210, Section 6A. Certificates of adoption.
Chapter 210, Section 6B. Adoption nunc pro tunc.
Chapter 210: Section 6C Agreement for post-adoption contact or communication
Chapter 210: Section 6D Enforcement of agreement
Chapter 210: Section 6E Decisions of adoptive parent on behalf of child
Chapter 210, Section 7. Succession to property; rights of adopted child.
Chapter 210, Section 8. Words "child", "grandchild", "issue", etc., defined.
Chapter 210, Section 9. Succession to property; right of child adopted in foreign state.
Chapter 210, Section 10. Second adoption; effect.
Chapter 210, Section 11. Appeals.
Chapter 210, Section 11A. Adoption services offered by certain persons or agencies; penalty.
CHANGE OF NAMES.
Chapter 210, Section 12. Petitions for change of name.
Chapter 210, Section 13. Notice and certificate; decree; entry; conditions precedent.
Chapter 210, Section 14. Annual return of changes.
Chapter 210: Section 1 Nature of adoption; district or juvenile court
Section 1. A person of full age may petition the probate court in the county where he resides for leave to adopt as his child another
person younger than himself, unless such other person is his or her wife or husband, or brother, sister, uncle or aunt, of the whole or half blood. A minor
may likewise petition, or join in the petition of his or her wife or husband, for the adoption of a natural child of one of the parties. If the petitioner
has a husband or wife living, competent to join in the petition, such husband or wife shall join therein, and upon adoption the child shall in law be the
child of both; provided, however, that the prayer of the petition may be granted although the spouse of the petitioner is not a party to the petition if
the court finds: (i) the failure of the spouse to join in the petition or to consent to the adoption is excused by reason of prolonged unexplained absence,
legal separation, incapacity or circumstances constituting an unreasonable withholding of consent; (ii) the husband and wife are not in the process of an
ongoing divorce; and (iii) the granting of the petition is in the best interests of the child. If a person not an inhabitant of this commonwealth desires
to adopt a child residing here, the petition may be made to the probate court in the county where the child resides.
The district or juvenile court may, if it appears necessary or convenient, exercise the powers authorized by this chapter, but only
in respect to a pending proceeding before such district or juvenile court.
Section 2. A decree of adoption shall not be made, except as provided in this chapter, without the written consent of the child to be
adopted, if above the age of twelve; of the child's spouse, if any; of the lawful parents, who may be previous adoptive parents, or surviving parent; or
of the mother only if the child was born out of wedlock and not previously adopted. A person whose consent is hereby required shall not be prevented from
being the adoptive parent.
Such written consent shall be executed no sooner than the fourth calendar day after the date of birth of the child to be adopted. It
shall be attested and subscribed before a notary public in the presence of two competent witnesses, one of whom shall be selected by said person. The agency
or person receiving custody shall act as guardian of the child until such time as a court of competent jurisdiction appoints a guardian or grants a petition
for adoption. Execution of such consent shall be carried out in a manner which shall preserve privacy and confidentiality. A copy of said consent shall
be filed with the department of social services. A consent executed in accordance with the provisions of this section shall be final and irrevocable from
date of execution.
The form of such consent shall be as follows:--
I, as the (relationship) of (name of child), age %y(3)B6, of the %y(3)B6 sex, born in (place of birth), on (date of birth), do hereby
voluntarily and unconditionally surrender (child) to the care and custody of (agency or person receiving custody) for the purpose of adoption or such other
disposition as may be made by a court of competent jurisdiction. I waive notice of any legal proceeding affecting the custody, guardianship, adoption or
other disposition of (child).
I UNDERSTAND THAT THIS SURRENDER IS FINAL AND CANNOT BE REVOKED.
%y(50)b4/s/ (person giving consent)
On this %y(4)B6 day of %y(4)B6 (insert year), before me personally came and appeared %y(4)B6 and in my presence duly executed the foregoing instrument,
and (he, she) acknowledged to me that (he, she) executed the same as (his, her) free act and deed, fully cognizant of its irrevocability.
Date
State of
%y(57)b4Notary Public %y(4)B6
County of
Signed by (name of person giving consent) as (his, her) freely executed consent in the presence of each of us, and of each other, who
thereafter have hereunto signed our names as witnesses.
%y(54)b4/s/%y(8)B6
%y(58)b4Address%y(3)B6
%y(54)b4/s/%y(8)B6
%y(58)b4Address%y(3)B6
Any surrender given outside of the commonwealth shall be valid for the purpose of this section if it was taken in accordance with laws of the state or the
country where it was executed.
If an agency or person receiving a child born out of wedlock for purposes of a subsequent adoption receives from the child's mother
an executed consent form as prescribed by this chapter, and no person has acknowledged paternity of the child in accordance with chapter two hundred and
nine C or has been adjudicated the father of the child by any court of competent jurisdiction, then the person or agency shall request that the mother voluntarily
provide a sworn written statement, executed before a notary and in the presence of two competent witnesses, one of whom shall be selected by the mother,
that identifies the child's father and his current or last known address. Any such statement shall be used solely for the purpose of notifying the person
named as the father of the status of the child.
Chapter 210: Section 2A Decree of adoption; entry; conditions precedent
Section 2A. No decree of adoption shall be entered for the adoption of a child below the age of fourteen until one of the following
conditions has been met:--
(A) The child sought to be adopted has been placed with the petitioners for adoption by the department of social services or by an agency
authorized by said department for such purpose, or
(B) The petitioner is a blood relative of the child sought to be adopted, or
(C) The petitioner is a step-parent of the child sought to be adopted, or
(D) The petitioner was nominated in the will of a deceased natural parent of the child as a guardian or an adoptive parent, or
(E) The petition for adoption has been approved in writing by the department of social services or by an agency authorized by said department.
Any petitioner aggrieved by the refusal of the department or of an agency to approve such petition after being requested to do so, may appeal such refusal
to the probate court in which the petition for adoption is pending, which court shall make final determination as to the allowance or dismissal of the petition.
Section 2B. Every decree of adoption entered by the court shall include the words ""This adoption is final and irrevocable.''
Section 3. (a) Whenever a petition for adoption is filed by a person having the care or custody of a child, the consent of the persons
named in section 2, other than that of the child, shall not be required if:-- (i) the person to be adopted is 18 years of age or older; or (ii) the court
hearing the petition finds that the allowance of the petition is in the best interests of the child pursuant to paragraph (c).
(b) The department of social services or a licensed child care agency may commence a proceeding, independent of a petition for adoption,
in the probate court in Suffolk county or in any other county in which the department or agency maintains an office, to dispense with the need for consent
of any person named in section 2 to adoption of the child in the care or custody of the department or agency. Notice of such proceeding shall be given to
such person in a manner prescribed by the court. The court shall appoint counsel to represent the child in the proceeding unless the petition is not contested
by any party. The court shall issue a decree dispensing with the need for consent or notice of any petition for adoption, custody, guardianship or other
disposition of the child named therein, if it finds that the best interests of the child as provided in paragraph (c) will be served by the decree. Pending
a hearing on the merits of a petition filed under this paragraph, temporary custody may be awarded to the petitioner. The entry of such decree shall have
the effect of terminating the rights of a person named therein to receive notice of or to consent to any legal proceeding affecting the custody, guardianship,
adoption or other disposition of the child named therein. The department shall provide notice of the hearing on the merits to any foster parent, pre-adoptive
parent or relative providing care for the child informing the foster parent, pre-adoptive parent or relative of his right to attend the hearing and be heard.
The provisions of this paragraph shall not be construed to require that a foster parent, pre-adoptive parent or relative be made a party to the proceeding.
A petition brought pursuant to this paragraph may be filed and a decree entered notwithstanding the pendency of a petition brought under
chapter 119 or chapter 201 regarding the same child. The chief justice for administration and management of the trial court may, pursuant to the provisions
of section 9 of chapter 211B, assign a justice from any department of the trial court to sit as a justice in any other department or departments of the
trial court and hear simultaneously a petition filed under this paragraph and any other pending case or cases involving custody or adoption of the same
child. A temporary or permanent custody decree shall not be a requirement to the filing of such petition.
A juvenile court or a district court shall enter a decree dispensing with the need for consent of any person named in section 2 to the
adoption of a child named in a petition filed pursuant to section 24 of chapter 119 in such court upon a finding that such child is in need of care and
protection pursuant to section 26 of said chapter 119 and that the best interests of the child as defined in paragraph (c) will be served by such decree.
The entry of such decree shall have the effect of terminating the rights of a person named therein to receive notice of or to consent to any legal proceeding
affecting the custody, guardianship, adoption or other disposition of the child named therein. Facts may be set forth either in the care and protection
petition filed pursuant to said section 24 of said chapter 119 or upon a motion made in the course of a care and protection proceeding, alleging that the
allowance of the petition or motion is in the best interests of the child.
The department of social services shall file a petition or, in the alternative, a motion to amend a petition pending pursuant to section
26 of chapter 119 to dispense with parental consent to adoption, custody, guardianship or other disposition of the child under the following circumstances:
(i) the child has been abandoned; (ii) the parent has been convicted by a court of competent jurisdiction of the murder or voluntary manslaughter of another
child of such parent, of aiding, abetting, attempting, conspiring or soliciting to commit such murder or voluntary manslaughter or of any assault constituting
a felony which results in serious bodily injury to the child or to another child of the parent; or (iii) the child has been in foster care in the custody
of the commonwealth for 15 of the immediately preceding 22 months. For the purposes of this paragraph, a child shall be considered to have entered foster
care on the earlier of: (a) the date of the first judicial finding, pursuant to section 24 or section 26 of chapter 119, that the child has been subjected
to abuse or neglect; or (b) the date that is 60 days after the date on which the child is removed from the home. For the purposes of this paragraph, ""serious
bodily injury'' shall mean bodily injury which involves a substantial risk of death, extreme physical pain, protracted and obvious disfigurement or protracted
loss or impairment of the function of a bodily member, organ or mental faculty.
The department shall concurrently identify, recruit, process and approve a qualified family for adoption.
The department need not file a motion or petition to dispense with parental consent to the adoption, custody, guardianship or other
disposition of the child, or, where the child is the subject of a pending petition pursuant to section 26 of chapter 119, a motion to amend the petition
to dispense with parental consent to the adoption, custody, guardianship or other disposition of the child, if the child is being cared for by a relative
or the department has documented in the case plan a compelling reason for determining that such a petition would not be in the best interests of the child
or that the family of the child has not been provided, consistent with the time period in the case plan, such services as the department deems necessary
for the safe return of the child to the child's home if reasonable efforts as set forth in section 29C of said chapter 119 are required to be made with
respect to the child.
(c) In determining whether the best interests of the child will be served by granting a petition for adoption without requiring certain
consent as permitted under paragraph (a), the court shall consider the ability, capacity, fitness and readiness of the child's parents or other person named
in section 2 to assume parental responsibility and shall also consider the ability, capacity, fitness and readiness of the petitioners under said paragraph
(a) to assume such responsibilities. In making the determination, the health and safety of the child shall be of paramount, but not exclusive, concern.
In determining whether the best interests of the child will be served by issuing a decree dispensing with the need for consent as permitted
under paragraph (b), the court shall consider the ability, capacity, fitness and readiness of the child's parents or other person named in section 2 to
assume parental responsibility, and shall also consider the plan proposed by the department or other agency initiating the petition. In making the determination,
the health and safety of the child shall be of paramount, but not exclusive, concern.
In considering the fitness of the child's parent or other person named in section 2, the court shall consider, without limitation, the
following factors:
(i) the child has been abandoned;
(ii) the child or another member of the immediate family of the child has been abused or neglected as a result of the acts or omissions
of one or both parents, the parents were offered or received services intended to correct the circumstances which led to the abuse or neglect and refused,
or were unable to utilize such services on a regular and consistent basis so that a substantial danger of abuse or neglect continues to exist, or have utilized
such services on a regular and consistent basis without effectuating a substantial and material or permanent change in the circumstances which led to the
abuse or neglect;
(iii) a court of competent jurisdiction has transferred custody of the child from the child's parents to the department, the placement
has lasted for at least six months and the parents have not maintained significant and meaningful contact with the child during the previous six months
nor have they, on a regular and consistent basis, accepted or productively utilized services intended to correct the circumstances;
(iv) the child is four years of age or older, a court of competent jurisdiction has transferred custody of the child from the child's
parents to the department and custody has remained with the department for at least 12 of the immediately preceding 15 months and the child cannot be returned
to the custody of the parents at the end of such 15-month period; provided, however, that the parents were offered or received services intended to correct
the circumstances and refused or were unable to utilize such services on a regular and consistent basis;
(v) the child is younger than four years of age, a court of competent jurisdiction has transferred custody of the child from the child's
parents to the department and custody has remained with the department for at least 6 of the immediately preceding 12 months and the child cannot be returned
to the custody of the parents at the end of such 12-month period; provided, however, that the parents were offered or received services intended to correct
the circumstances and refused or were unable to utilize such services on a regular and consistent basis;
(vi) the parent, without excuse, fails to provide proper care or custody for the child and there is a reasonable expectation that the
parent will not be able to provide proper care or custody within a reasonable time considering the age of the child provided that the parents were offered
or received services intended to correct the circumstances and refused or were unable to utilize such services on a regular and consistent basis;
(vii) because of the lengthy absence of the parent or the parent's inability to meet the needs of the child, the child has formed a
strong, positive bond with his substitute caretaker, the bond has existed for a substantial portion of the child's life, the forced removal of the child
from the caretaker would likely cause serious psychological harm to the child and the parent lacks the capacity to meet the special needs of the child upon
removal;
(viii) a lack of effort by a parent or other person named in section 2 to remedy conditions which create a risk of harm due to abuse
or neglect of the child;
(ix) severe or repetitive conduct of a physically, emotionally or sexually abusive or neglectful nature toward the child or toward another
child in the home;
(x) the willful failure to visit the child where the child is not in the custody of the parent or other person named in section 2;
(xi) the willful failure to support the child where the child is not in the custody of the parent or other person named in section 2.
Failure to support shall mean that the parent or other person has failed to make a material contribution to the child's care when the contribution has been
requested by the department or ordered by the court;
(xii) a condition which is reasonably likely to continue for a prolonged, indeterminate period, such as alcohol or drug addiction, mental
deficiency or mental illness, and the condition makes the parent or other person named in section 2 unlikely to provide minimally acceptable care of the
child;
(xiii) the conviction of a parent or other person named in section 2 of a felony that the court finds is of such a nature that the child
will be deprived of a stable home for a period of years. Incarceration in and of itself shall not be grounds for termination of parental rights; or
(xiv) whether or not there has been a prior pattern of parental neglect or misconduct or an assault constituting a felony which resulted
in serious bodily injury to the child and a likelihood of future harm to the child based on such prior pattern or assault.
For the purposes of this section ""abandoned'' shall mean being left without any provision for support and without any person
responsible to maintain care, custody and control because the whereabouts of the person responsible therefor is unknown and reasonable efforts to locate
the person have been unsuccessful. A brief and temporary absence from the home without intent to abandon the child shall not constitute abandonment.
Hearings on petitions to dispense with consent to adoption that allege that a child has been abandoned shall be scheduled and heard
on an expedited basis. Notwithstanding the foregoing, the following circumstances shall constitute grounds for dispensing with the need for consent to adoption,
custody, guardianship or other disposition of the child: (i) the child has been abandoned; (ii) the parent has been convicted by a court of competent jurisdiction
of the murder or voluntary manslaughter of another child of such parent, of aiding, abetting, attempting, conspiring or soliciting to commit such murder
or voluntary manslaughter or of an assault constituting a felony which resulted in serious bodily injury to the child or to another child of the parent.
For the purposes of this section, ""serious bodily injury'' shall mean bodily injury which involves a substantial risk of death, extreme physical
pain, protracted and obvious disfigurement or protracted loss or impairment of the function of a bodily member, organ or mental faculty.
(d) Nothing in this section shall be construed to prohibit the petitioner and a birth parent from entering into an agreement for post-termination
contact or communication. The court issuing the termination decree under this section shall have jurisdiction to resolve matters concerning the agreement.
Such agreement shall become null and void upon the entry of an adoption or guardianship decree.
Notwithstanding the existence of any agreement for post-termination or post-adoption contact or communication, the decree entered under
this section shall be final.
Nothing in this section shall be construed to prohibit a birth parent who has entered into a post-termination agreement from entering
into an agreement for post-adoption contact or communication pursuant to section 6C once an adoptive family has been identified.
Chapter 210: Section 3A Repealed, 1972, 800, Sec. 3
Chapter 210: Section 3B Registration of interest for pre-adoptive or adoptive placement; criminal record review
Section 3B. When deciding whether to approve or reject a registration of interest for pre-adoptive or adoptive placement, the department
shall conduct a review of any misdemeanor offense discovered through a criminal offender record information search conducted pursuant to section 172B of
chapter 6 in order to assist the department in accurately evaluating whether the mere existence of the offense has a substantial effect on the applicant's
current or future ability to assume and carry out the responsibilities of an adoptive or pre-adoptive parent in such a manner that the rights of the child
to sound health and normal physical, mental, spiritual and moral development are insured. The review shall include, but need not be limited to, a review
of the following: the time that has elapsed between the date of the offense and the filing of the registration of interest, the seriousness and specific
circumstances of the offense, the number and nature of other offenses, the age of the offender at the time of the offense, the findings and recommendations
of the family resource worker assigned by the department to discuss the facts surrounding the misdemeanor with the applicant, the recommendations given
to the family resource worker by personal or employment references chosen by the applicant or received otherwise, the current and future needs of the child
to be placed or adopted and the probable effect that the misdemeanor would have on the applicant's ability to fulfill those needs, any reports or recommendations
received by the department from the applicant's parole or probation officer should one have been assigned, a copy of the police report pertaining to the
offense in question if obtainable within a reasonable period of time or discussions with a police officer familiar with the facts surrounding the offense
and, unless inappropriate, discussions with the child to be placed regarding his current and past relationship with the applicant. Nothing in this section
shall be construed to affect the discretion of the department to approve or reject the registration of interest for adoptive or pre-adoptive placement.
Chapter 210: Section 4 Notice
Section 4. If the written consent required by section two is not submitted to the court with the petition, the court shall, except where
the court under section three has determined that such consent and notice is not required, order notice by personal service upon the parties of an order
of notice, in such form as shall be prescribed under section thirty of chapter two hundred and fifteen, or, if the parties are not found within this commonwealth,
by publication of said order of notice once in each of three successive weeks in such newspaper as the court orders, the last publication to be seven days
at least before the time appointed for the hearing, and the court may require additional notice and consent. But if such child is of unknown parentage and
is a foundling, publication as herein set forth shall not be required; but notice of the petition shall be given to the department of social services.
Chapter 210: Section 4A Fathers of children born out of wedlock; adoption rights
Section 4A. Whenever the mother of a child born out of wedlock has surrendered the child in accordance with section two, or whenever
the right of such mother to withhold consent for adoption has been terminated in accordance with section three, notice of such surrender or termination
and a right to petition for adoption shall be afforded to any person who, prior to such surrender or termination, has filed a declaration seeking to assert
the responsibilities of fatherhood, hereinafter called a parental responsibility claim, or has been adjudicated the father of the child, except when a decree
has been issued pursuant to section three dispensing with the need of consent of said father. The paternal responsibility claim shall be filed with the
department of social services, hereinafter called the department, on a form prescribed by the department. The department shall provide the person filing
with evidence of the filing within five days and shall at the same time, send notice of the filing to such mother by registered mail at her address as stated
on the paternal responsibility claim or to such other address as the department determines to be correct after making every reasonable effort to locate
such mother. Such filing shall constitute an acknowledgment and admission of paternity.
Upon request of any person or agency receiving a child for the purpose of adoption, the department shall examine all paternal responsibility
claims filed with it and shall within five days provide an affidavit to such person or agency stating whether or not there has been a paternal responsibility
claim filed with respect to such child. If such a paternal responsibility claim has been filed, the department shall, notify the person claiming paternity
by registered mail, at the address stated on said paternal responsibility claim, that the child is in the care of a licensed placement agency which is planning
for the adoption of the child. A copy of the notice shall be sent to the person or agency requesting the affidavit. The person claiming paternity may within
thirty days from the date of mailing of said notice by the department file a petition for adoption or custody of such child in the probate court of the
county where the agency is located. If he fails to do so, he shall not be entitled to notice of any subsequent proceeding concerning custody, guardianship,
or adoption of the child. The court shall consider the case as expeditiously as possible, and, without regard to other potential adoptive parents, shall
allow the petition of the person claiming paternity if it finds that such adoption or custody is in the child's best interest and if it finds that such
person is the father of the child. The court on its own motion may order the production of any evidence to determine if the petitioner is the father of
the child. Any such petition shall be subject to clause (E) of section two A. Any costs incurred for the temporary care of the child pending the hearing
on the petition of the person claiming paternity shall be borne by said person.
No other petition for adoption shall be allowed without proof of compliance with this section.
Chapter 210: Section 5 Failure to object after notice; proceedings
Section 5. If, after such notice, a person whose consent is required does not appear and object to the adoption, the court may act upon
the petition without his consent, subject to his right of appeal, or it may appoint a guardian ad litem with power to give or withhold consent.
Chapter 210: Section 5A Children under fourteen; adoption; regulations; removals
Section 5A. Upon the filing of a petition for adoption of a child under the age of fourteen, notice shall be given to the department
of social services which shall make appropriate inquiry to determine the condition and antecedents of the child for the purpose of ascertaining whether
he is a proper subject for adoption and to determine whether the petitioners and their home are suitable for the proper rearing of the child. The department
shall submit to the court not later than thirty days after receipt of such notice such written report as will give the court full knowledge as to the desirability
of the proposed adoption. In any petition for adoption the department shall submit to the court verification that the adoptee is not registered with the
federal register for missing children and the central register. If the report of the department is not submitted to the court within said thirty days, upon
motion of the petitioner, seven days notice of which shall be given to the department by service in hand or by certified mail, return receipt requested,
the court shall, if the court finds that the department has made substantial progress but has not completed the report due to circumstances beyond the department's
control, grant the department up to an additional thirty days in which to complete the report and if the court does not so find, the court shall appoint
any charitable corporation organized under general or special laws of the commonwealth for the purpose of engaging in the care of children and principally
so engaged to conduct such inquiry, and the report thereof shall have the same force and effect as a report of the department. The court may require such
further investigation and report by the department as may be necessary. All reports submitted hereunder shall be filed separate and apart from the other
papers in the case, and shall not at any time be open to inspection except by the parties and their attorneys, unless the court, for good cause shown, shall
otherwise order. No decree shall be made upon such a petition until such report has been received, nor until the child shall have resided for not less than
six months in the home of the petitioner; provided, that for good cause shown the court may, in its discretion, waive the requirement of residence. This
section shall not apply in the case of a petition for adoption presented, sponsored or recommended by any charitable corporation organized under general
or special laws of the commonwealth for the purpose of engaging in the care of children and principally so engaged; provided, however, that such petitions
shall be accompanied by a written report from said charitable corporation, which report shall be of the same force and effect as a report of the department
of social services; and further provided, that no decree shall be made upon such a petition in the case of a child who has resided for less than six months
in the home of the petitioner, except that, for good cause shown, the court may, in its discretion, waive the requirement of residence. Whenever the requirement
of residence in the home of the petitioner is waived under this section, the probate judge shall file a memorandum setting forth the facts upon which such
waiver was based.
At any time after the report has been filed, the court after notice and hearing shall order the removal of the child from the proposed
adoption home if, in the opinion of the court, such removal is in the best interests of the child. If such removal is ordered, the court shall appoint a
guardian who shall be a relative of the child, a person designated by the department of social services or an agency licensed by the department to have
custody of the child, with authority to provide for his future care.
The court may waive the provisions of this section in the case of a petition for the adoption of a child of one of the parties petitioning
for said adoption.
Chapter 210: Section 5B Adoptive custody; factors considered; request for religious designation
Section 5B. In making orders for adoption, the judge shall consider the need of the child for loving and responsible parental care and
all factors relevant to the physical, mental and moral health of the child.
If, at the time of surrender of the child for adoptive custody, the parent or parents of said child requested a religious designation
for the child, the court may grant a petition for adoption of the child only to a person or persons of the religious designation so requested, unless a
placement for adoptive custody based on such request would not have been in the best interests of the child. If a request for religious designation is not
given effect, such reasons in support of such determination shall be made a part of the records of the proceedings.
Chapter 210: Section 5C Inspection of pleadings, reports, etc.; docket book
Section 5C. All petitions for adoption, all reports submitted thereunder and all pleadings, papers or documents filed in connection
therewith, docket entries in the permanent docket and record books shall not be available for inspection, unless a judge of probate of the county where
such records are kept, for good cause shown, shall otherwise order. Such petitions, reports, pleadings, papers, documents and permanent docket and record
books shall be segregated. A separate permanent docket book shall be provided for all such entries. This section shall apply to the index of the court of
all such entries, a separate index of which shall be provided.
Chapter 210: Section 5D Release of information concerning adoption
Section 5D. (a) A placement agency, as defined in section nine of chapter twenty-eight A, holding records relating to an adopted person,
the biological parents of an adopted person or the adoptive parents of an adopted person shall:
(1) release to such adopted person, if he has reached the age of eighteen years, upon his written request, information about his biological
parents which will not identify or tend to lead to the identification of the biological parents or their present or former locations.
(2) release to a biological parent of an adopted person, upon the biological parent's written request, information about such adopted
person which will not reveal or tend to reveal his identity after adoption or his present or former locations, and which will not tend to lead to his identity
after adoption or present or former locations.
(3) release to an adoptive parent, if the adopted person is under the age of eighteen years, upon the adoptive parent's written request,
information about the adopted person and his biological parents which will not identify or tend to lead to the identification of the biological parents
or their present or former locations.
Such information shall include such nonidentifying information which the agency holds concerning the medical, ethnic, socio-economic,
and educational circumstances of the person. The agency, in its discretion, shall further release such nonidentifying information concerning the circumstances
under which the adopted person became available for adoption as it deems to be in the best interest of the person so requesting.
(b) If a placement agency, as defined in section nine of chapter twenty-eight A, has received written permission from a biological parent
of an adopted person to release the identity of the biological parent to the adopted person and the said agency has received written permission from the
adopted person, or written permission from the adoptive parents if the adoptive person is under the age of twenty-one, to release the identity after adoption
of the adopted person to the biological parent, then the agency shall release the identity of the adopted person to the biological parent and the identity
of the biological parent to the adopted person; provided, however, that if the biological parent is surviving, that he or she has given written consent
at least thirty days before the release of said identifying information. The term ""biological parent'', as used in this subsection, shall mean
a biological mother, or a father named on the birth certificate of the adopted person filed in court with the adoption papers, or a man who has signed,
as father, an adoption surrender filed in court with the adoption papers.
(c) Information released to a person pursuant to paragraphs (a) and (b) shall be provided in writing if such person so requests.
(d) Such placement agency shall:
(1) release to the biological parent of an adopted person, upon the biological parent's written request, any personal data, as defined
in section one of chapter sixty-six A, which it holds relating to the biological parent.
(2) release to an adoptive parent, upon his written request, any personal data, as defined in section one of chapter sixty-six A, which
it holds relating to the adoptive parent.
(3) in making any disclosure of information pursuant to this paragraph, the agency shall remove personal identifiers relating to a third
person. No agency shall rely on any exception contained in clause Twenty-sixth of section seven of chapter four to withhold personal data otherwise accessible
under this paragraph.
(e) All other adoption records held by such placement agency shall be confidential and shall not be released.
Chapter 210: Section 5E Department of social services adoption report
Section 5E. The department of social services shall submit a report detailing the number and nature, as defined jointly by department
and the University of Massachusetts center for adoption research and policy in Worcester, of adoptions processed by the department during each calendar
quarter to be filed with said center on the first day of each calendar quarter.
Chapter 210: Section 6 Decree of court; force and effect; private hearings
Section 6. If the court is satisfied of the identity and relations of the persons, and that the petitioner is of sufficient ability
to bring up the child and provide suitable support and education for it, and that the child should be adopted, it shall make a decree, by which, except
as regards succession to property, all rights, duties and other legal consequences of the natural relation of child and parent shall thereafter exist between
the child and the petitioner and his kindred, and such rights, duties and legal consequences shall, except as regards marriage, incest or cohabitation,
terminate between the child so adopted and his natural parents and kindred or any previous adopting parent; but such decree shall not place the adopting
parent or adopted child in any relation to any person, except each other, different from that before existing as regards marriage, or as regards rape, incest
or other sexual crime committed by either or both. The court may also decree such change of name as the petitioner may request. If the person so adopted
is of full age, he shall not be freed by such decree from the obligations imposed by section six of chapter one hundred and seventeen and section twenty
of chapter two hundred and seventy-three.
In evaluating whether a petitioner is of sufficient ability to provide suitable support for the child, the court shall give consideration
to assurances by the department of social services that it will provide an adoption subsidy for the child.
No decree shall be made under this section until there has been filed in the court a statement, signed and sworn to by the petitioner,
or petitioners, setting forth the date of birth and place of residence of each adopting parent and such other facts relating to each such parent as would
be required by section thirteen of chapter forty-six for the correction of the record of the birth of the person sought to be adopted, and also a copy of
the birth record of such person; provided, that in case such person has been previously adopted, either a copy of the record of his birth amended to conform
to the previous decree of adoption or a copy of such decree may be so filed; and, provided further, that the filing of any such copy may be dispensed with
if the judge is satisfied that it cannot be obtained.
Every decree of adoption entered by the court shall include the words ""This adoption is final and irrevocable.''
The probate judge may determine that the hearing on any adoption petition shall be held in chambers. He shall, on the request of any
party to an adoption proceeding, hold the hearing thereon in chambers, except that if said petition is contested, the consent of the other party or parties
shall be required. No person shall be allowed to be present at any such hearing unless his presence is necessary either as a party or as a witness, and
the probate judge shall exclude the general public from the hearing.
Chapter 210: Section 6A Certificates of adoption
Section 6A. The court shall forthwith, following the making of a decree of adoption, issue to the petitioner, or petitioners, a certificate
of adoption setting forth all the facts relating to the adopting parent, or parents, as appearing in the statement required to be filed by section six,
the name of, and all other facts relating to, the person adopted, as appearing in any copy of birth record or decree of adoption filed as required by said
section, the name of the court making such decree and the date thereof, and, if such decree authorizes a change in the name of the person adopted, his name
as so changed; provided, that if such person has been born out of wedlock, the name, or names, of, and all other facts relating to, his natural parent,
or parents, shall be omitted from such certificate.
Certificates under this section shall be made on forms furnished by the commissioner of public health, and shall provide for the indicating
thereon by the adopting parent, or parents, as to whether or not a correction of the record of the birth of the person adopted is desired; and, in case
such desire is so indicated, the court shall forthwith send a certified copy of such certificate to the clerk of the city or town where such person was
born.
If either of the parents who have adopted a child so request, the register of probate shall issue a special certificate of adoption
upon which the original or prior name of the child and the names of its natural parents shall not appear.
Chapter 210: Section 6B Adoption nunc pro tunc
Section 6B. In the event that either of the petitioning adopting parents to a petition for adoption, which has been filed with the probate
court, should die prior to the entry of a decree of adoption, the probate court may enter a decree within three months following the date of death nunc
pro tunc to the date of the filing of the adoption petition. Said decree shall have all of the effect of a decree of adoption as to both petitioners and
the person adopted as provided for in section seven.
Chapter 210: Section 6C Agreement for post-adoption contact or communication
Section 6C. (a) Prior to the entry of an adoption decree, prospective adoptive parents and a birth parent may enter into an agreement
for post-adoption contact or communication between or among a minor to be adopted, the prospective adoptive parents and the birth parents. Such agreement
may be approved by the court issuing the termination decree under section 3; provided, however, that an agreement under this section shall be finally approved
by the court issuing the adoption decree. Any breach, modification or invalidation of the agreement, or any part of it, shall not affect the validity of
the adoption. The adoption shall be final.
(b) The court shall approve an agreement for post-adoption contact or communication if the court finds that such agreement:
(i) is in the best interests of the child;
(ii) contains terms that are fair and reasonable; and
(iii) has been entered knowingly and voluntarily by all parties to the agreement. This requirement may be satisfied by an affidavit
executed by all parties, either jointly or separately, that is filed with the court. The affidavit shall state that the agreement is entered into knowingly
and voluntarily and is not the product of coercion or duress. The court may hear testimony from the parties to the agreement.
(c) To be approved by the court, an agreement for post-adoption contact or communication shall contain the following statements:
(i) This agreement is entered into pursuant to the provisions of section 6C of chapter 210 of the General Laws.
(ii) Any breach, modification or invalidation of the agreement or any part of it shall not affect the validity of the adoption. The
adoption shall be final.
(iii) The parties acknowledge that either the birth or adoptive parents who have entered into the agreement have the right to seek enforcement
as set forth in section 6D of chapter 210 of the General Laws.
(iv) The parties have not relied on any representations other than those contained in this agreement.
The agreement shall be signed by the parties and acknowledged before a notary public as the free act and deed of the parties. If the
child is above the age of 12, the agreement shall contain the written consent of the child. If the child is in the custody of the department of social services,
the agreement shall contain the written approval of the department and the attorney for the child. If the child is in the custody of a licensed child care
agency, the agreement shall contain the written approval of the agency.
(d) To be enforceable, an agreement for post-adoption contact or communication shall be: (i) in writing; (ii) approved by the court
prior to the date for entry of the adoption decree; and (iii) incorporated but not merged into the adoption decree, and shall survive as an independent
contract.
(e) An agreement under this section need not disclose the identity of the parties to be enforceable; but if an identity is not disclosed,
the unidentified person shall designate an agent for the purpose of service of process.
(f) An agreement for post-adoption contact or communication shall cease to be enforceable on the date the adopted person turns 18 years
of age
Chapter 210: Section 6D Enforcement of agreement
Section 6D. A party to a court-approved agreement for post-adoption contact or communication may seek to enforce the agreement by commencing
a civil action for specific performance. A court order for specific performance of the terms of a post-adoption contact agreement shall be the sole remedy
for breach of an agreement.
In such proceedings, parties shall not be entitled to the appointment of counsel; provided, however, that the court may appoint a guardian
ad litem to represent the interests of the child.
In an enforcement proceeding, the court may modify the terms of the agreement if the court finds that there has been a material and
substantial change in circumstances and the modification is necessary in the best interests of the child. A court-imposed modification of a previously approved
agreement may limit, restrict, condition or decrease contact between the birth parents and the child but in no event shall a court-imposed modification
serve to expand, enlarge or increase the amount of contact between the birth parents and the child or place new obligations on adoptive parents.
If the court finds that an action brought under this section was wholly insubstantial, frivolous and not advanced in good faith in accordance
with the provisions of section 6F of chapter 231, the court may award attorney's fees to all prevailing parties.
Nothing in the agreement shall preclude a party seeking to enforce an agreement for post-adoption contact or communication from utilizing
child welfare mediation or permanency mediation before, or in addition to, the commencement of a civil action for specific enforcement. All proceedings
conducted under this section shall be closed to the public and confidential and papers shall be segregated in accordance with section 5D.
Chapter 210: Section 6E Decisions of adoptive parent on behalf of child
Section 6E. Nothing contained in sections 6C and 6D shall be construed to abrogate the right of an adoptive parent to make decisions
on behalf of his child.
Chapter 210: Section 7 Succession to property; rights of adopted child
Section 7. A person adopted in accordance with this chapter shall take the same share of that property which the adopting parent could
dispose of by will as he would have taken if born to such parent in lawful wedlock, and he shall stand to the kindred of such adopting parent in the same
position as if so born to him. If the person adopted dies intestate, his property shall be distributed according to chapters one hundred and ninety and
one hundred and ninety-six among the persons who would have been his kindred if he had been born to his adopting parent in lawful wedlock. The apportionment
and distribution shall be ascertained by the court. A person shall by adoption lose his right to inherit from his natural parents or kindred, except when
one of the natural parents of a minor child has died and the surviving parent has remarried subsequent to such parent's death, subsequent adoption of such
child by the person with whom such remarriage is contracted shall not affect the rights of such child to inherit from or through the deceased parent or
kindred thereof. The court may decree that the rights of succession to property under this section shall vest in the person adopted as of the date of the
filing of the petition for adoption.
Chapter 210: Section 8 ""Child'', ""grandchild'', ""issue'', etc., defined
Section 8. The words ""child'', ""grandchild'', ""issue'', ""heir'' or ""heir-at-law'',
or their respective equivalents, in a grant, trust settlement, entail, devise or bequest, shall include one who is adopted to the same extent as if born
to the adopting parent or parents in lawful wedlock, whether the adoption was decreed before or after the date of execution or the effective date of any
such grant, trust settlement, entail, devise or bequest, unless the contrary plainly appears by the terms of the instrument.
Chapter 210: Section 9 Succession to property; right of child adopted in foreign state
Section 9. A person adopted in another state or country, in accordance with the laws thereof, shall upon proof of such fact be entitled
in this commonwealth to the same rights of succession to property by grant, trust settlement, entail, devise, bequest, or by intestacy as he would have
had if he had been adopted in the commonwealth.
Chapter 210: Section 10 Second adoption; effect
Section 10. If the child has been previously adopted, all the legal consequences of the former decree shall, upon a subsequent adoption,
determine, except so far as any interest in property may have vested in the adopted child, and a decree to that effect shall be entered on the records of
the court.
Chapter 210: Section 11 Appeals
Section 11. The supreme judicial court may allow a parent, who, upon a petition for adoption, had no notice of the proceedings before
the decree and had neither waived notice in accordance with section two nor been the subject of a decree dispensing with need for notice in accordance with
section three, to appeal therefrom within one hundred and twenty days after actual notice thereof.
Chapter 210: Section 11A Adoption services offered by certain persons or agencies; penalty
Section 11A. Any person or entity other than a duly authorized agent or employee of the department of social services or a child care
or placement agency licensed under the provisions of chapter twenty-eight A, who causes to be published in the commonwealth an advertisement or notice of
children offered or wanted for adoption, or in any way offers to place, locate or dispose of children offered or wanted for adoption, or who holds himself
out in any way as being able to place, locate or dispose of children for adoption shall be punished by a fine of not less than one hundred nor more than
one thousand dollars. Any such person who shall accept payment in the form of money or other consideration in return for placing a child for adoption shall
be punished by a fine of not less than five thousand and not more than thirty thousand dollars, or by imprisonment in jail or house of correction for not
more than two and one-half years or in the state prison for not more than five years, or both.
CHANGE OF NAMES
Chapter 210: Section 12 Petitions
Section 12. A petition for the change of name of a person may be heard by the probate court in the county where the petitioner resides.
The change of name of a person shall be granted unless such change is inconsistent with public interests.
Chapter 210: Section 13 Notice and certificate; decree; entry; conditions precedent
Section 13. The court shall, before decreeing a change of name, request a report from the commissioner of probation on the person filing
the petition and, except for good cause shown, require public notice of the petition to be given and any person may be heard thereon, and, upon entry of
a decree, the name as established thereby shall be the legal name of the petitioner, and the register may issue a certificate, under the seal of the court,
of the name as so established.
No decree shall be entered, however, until there has been filed in the court a copy of the birth record of the person whose name is
sought to be changed and, in case such person's name has previously been changed by decree of court or at marriage pursuant to section one D of chapter
forty-six, either a copy of the record of his birth amended to conform to the previous decree changing his name, a copy of such decree, or a copy of the
record of marriage; provided, that the filing of any such copy may be dispensed with if the judge is satisfied that it cannot be obtained.
Chapter 210: Section 14 Annual return of changes
Section 14. Each register of probate shall annually, in December, make a return to the commissioner of public health and the commissioner of probation
of all changes of name made in his court.
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