Senate Bill 492: Adoption Law Changes

• Allows North Carolina courts to exercise adoption jurisdiction when another state's custody proceeding does not identify a specific prospective adoptive parent or when the other state dismisses its proceeding or releases jurisdiction.

• Expands adoption petition venue options to include the county where the adoptee was born if the petition is filed before the adoptee is 6 months old, and allows objections to venue to be filed by parties entitled to notice.

• Changes language regarding foreign adoptions from "a man and a woman" to "two persons" for couples seeking to readopt in North Carolina, including provisions for surviving spouses when one adopting parent has died.

• Allows courts to determine a birth date for adoptees born outside the United States based on medical evidence when exact dates are unknown, and permits agencies to redact detailed financial and family information from preplacement assessments provided to placing parents.

• Requires individuals witnessing adoption consents and relinquishments to certify that the person executing the document has been advised of the right to seek legal counsel, and clarifies procedures for Interstate Compact on the Placement of Children proceedings and judicial review of Compact administrator decisions.

• Becomes effective October 1, 2019.