Court Jurisdiction and Venue for Adoption Petitions - New York
Date: January 2022
Jurisdiction
Citation: Fam. Ct. § 641
The family court has original jurisdiction concurrent with the surrogate's courts over adoption proceedings under article 7 of the domestic relations law.
Venue
Citation: Dom. Rel. §§ 113(3); 115(2)
In an agency adoption proceeding, the petition shall be filed in the same court and, wherever practicable, shall be assigned to the same judge of the county in which one of the following applies:
- Where parental rights had been terminated
- Where a judicial surrender had been approved
- Where the adoptive parents reside
- Where the authorized agency has its principal office if the adoptive parents do not reside in the State
In a private placement adoption, the proceeding shall be instituted in the county where the adoptive parents reside or, if the adoptive parents do not reside in the State, in the county where the adoptive child resides.