Court Jurisdiction and Venue for Adoption Petitions - Minnesota

Jurisdiction

Citation: Ann. Stat. §§ 259.23, Subd. 1; 260C.621, Subd. 1

The juvenile court shall have original jurisdiction in all adoption proceedings.

The juvenile court has original jurisdiction for all adoption proceedings involving the adoption of a child under the guardianship of the commissioner, including when the commissioner of the Department of Human Services approves the placement of the child through the Interstate Compact on the Placement of Children under § 260.851 for adoption outside the State of Minnesota and an adoption petition is filed in Minnesota.

The receiving State also has jurisdiction to conduct an adoption proceeding for a child under the guardianship of the commissioner when the adopting home was approved by the receiving State through the interstate compact.

Venue

Citation: Ann. Stat. §§ 259.23, Subd. 1; 260C.621, Subd. 2

The proper venue for an adoption proceeding shall be the county of the petitioner's residence, except as provided below in § 260C.621, subd. 2, for the adoption of children under the guardianship of the commissioner.

In all adoptions under this chapter, if the petitioner has acquired a new residence in another county and requests a transfer of the adoption proceeding, the court in which an adoption is initiated may transfer the proceeding to the appropriate court in the new county of residence if the transfer is in the best interests of the person to be adopted.

Venue for the adoption of a child committed to the guardianship of the commissioner shall be the court conducting reviews in the matter according to § 260C.607.

Upon request of the responsible social services agency, the court conducting reviews under § 260C.607 may order that filing an adoption petition involving a child under the guardianship of the commissioner be permitted in the county where the adopting parent resides, upon determining the following:

• There is no motion for an order for adoptive placement of the child that has been filed or the agency reasonably anticipates will be filed.
• Filing the petition in the adopting parent's county of residence will expedite the proceedings and serve the best interests of the child.