Consent to Adoption - Mississippi

Date: October 2021

Who Must Consent to an Adoption

Citation: Ann. Code § 93-17-5

Consent shall be executed by the following persons:

  • The parents, or parent if only one parent, even if either one is under age 21
  • If both parents are dead, then any two adult kin of the child within the third degree
  • The guardian ad litem of an abandoned child
  • Those persons having physical custody of the child, except persons who are acting as foster parents as a result of placement by the Department of Human Services of the State of Mississippi
  • Any person to whom custody of the child may have been awarded by a court of competent jurisdiction of the State of Mississippi
  • The agent of the county department of human services that has placed a child in foster care, either by agreement or by court order

Consent of Child Being Adopted

Citation: Ann. Code § 93-17-5

If the child is age 14 or older, a consent to the adoption, sworn to or acknowledged by the child, is required.

When Parental Consent is not Needed

Citation: Ann. Code § 93-17-7

No child shall be adopted by any person if a parent whose parental rights have not been terminated objects thereto before the decree for adoption is issued. A parent shall not be summoned in the adoption proceedings nor have the right to object thereto if the parental rights of the parent have been terminated by the procedure set forth in the Mississippi Termination of Parental Rights Law (§ 93-15-101, et seq.).

When Consent Can Be Executed

Citation: Ann. Code § 93-17-5

Consent shall not be executed before 72 hours after the birth of the child.

How Consent Must Be Executed

Citation: Ann. Code § 93-17-5

Consenting parents shall be made parties to the adoption proceeding by process or by filing consent to the proposed adoption in the petition. Consent may also be executed and filed by the duly authorized officer or representative of a home to whose care the child has been delivered. The child shall join the petition.

Revocation of Consent

Citation: Ann. Code §§ 93-17-7; 93-17-15

No person, whether claiming to be the parent of the child or not, has standing to object to the adoption if the following apply:

  • A final judgment for adoption that conforms to all applicable State and Federal laws has been entered by a court.
  • Notice to the parties of the action, whether known or unknown, has been made in compliance with § 93-17-5.

No action shall be brought to set aside any final decree of adoption, whether granted upon consent or personal process or on process by publication, except within 6 months of the entry thereof.

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