The bill amends the Adoption Act and the New Mexico Uniform Parentage Act to introduce "confirmatory adoptions," allowing parents of children conceived through assisted reproduction to confirm their parentage and obtain an adoption judgment. Key definitions, including "confirmatory adoption," are added to clarify this process. The bill ensures equal treatment under the law by stating that existing provisions applicable to father-child relationships will also apply to mother-child and parent-child relationships. It modifies pre-placement study requirements, indicating that these will not apply to confirmatory adoptions, and revises notice requirements for adoption petitions, emphasizing full disclosure while streamlining the process for confirmatory adoptions.

Additionally, the bill establishes new requirements for accounting and payment related to adoption services, mandating that an accounting report be signed under penalty of perjury and detailing services received in connection with the adoption. It specifies that only prospective adoptive parents may make payments for allowed expenses to third-party vendors and introduces penalties for violations of these provisions. The bill also streamlines the petition process for confirmatory adoptions by eliminating certain requirements, such as placement studies and criminal records checks, under specific conditions. The court is required to grant a petition for confirmatory adoption within thirty days if the petitioners are legally recognized parents and there are no competing claims of parentage.

Statutes affected:
introduced version: 32A-5-3, 32A-5-14, 32A-5-27, 32A-5-34, 40-11A-704
Final Version: 32A-5-3, 32A-5-14, 32A-5-27, 32A-5-34, 40-11A-704