LB245 LB245
2021 2021
LEGISLATURE OF NEBRASKA
ONE HUNDRED SEVENTH LEGISLATURE
FIRST SESSION
LEGISLATIVE BILL 245
Introduced by DeBoer, 10; Wayne, 13; Wishart, 27.
Read first time January 11, 2021
Committee: Judiciary
1 A BILL FOR AN ACT relating to adoptions; to amend sections 25-309,
2 43-101, 43-104, 43-104.01, 43-104.02, 43-104.03, 43-104.04,
3 43-104.05, 43-104.08, 43-104.09, 43-104.12, 43-104.13, 43-104.14,
4 43-104.16, 43-104.17, 43-104.18, 43-104.22, 43-104.23, 43-105,
5 43-106, 43-108, 43-109, 43-111, 43-111.01, 43-112, 43-115,
6 43-146.01, and 43-906, Reissue Revised Statutes of Nebraska, and
7 sections 25-307, 43-102, and 43-1411, Revised Statutes Cumulative
8 Supplement, 2020; to define terms and change terminology; to change
9 provisions relating to petitions for adoptions, adoptive home
10 studies, consents to adoptions, fathers, the biological father
11 registry, notices, petitions for adjudication of paternity, and
12 notices to possible biological fathers; to eliminate provisions
13 relating to guardians ad litem; to harmonize provisions; to repeal
14 the original sections; and to outright repeal sections 43-104.19,
15 43-104.20, 43-104.21, and 43-104.25, Reissue Revised Statutes of
16 Nebraska.
17 Be it enacted by the people of the State of Nebraska,
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1 Section 1. Section 25-307, Revised Statutes Cumulative Supplement,
2 2020, is amended to read:
3 25-307 Except as provided by the Nebraska Probate Code, section
4 43-104.05, and sections 43-4801 to 43-4812, the action of an infant shall
5 be commenced, maintained, and prosecuted by his or her guardian or next
6 friend. Such actions may be dismissed with or without prejudice by the
7 guardian or next friend only with approval of the court. When the action
8 is commenced by his or her next friend, the court has power to dismiss
9 it, if it is not for the benefit of the infant, or to substitute the
10 guardian of the infant, or any person, as the next friend. Any action
11 taken pursuant to this section shall be binding upon the infant.
12 Sec. 2. Section 25-309, Reissue Revised Statutes of Nebraska, is
13 amended to read:
14 25-309 Except as provided by the Nebraska Probate Code and section
15 43-104.05, the defense of an infant must be by a guardian for the suit,
16 who may be appointed by the court in which the action is prosecuted, or
17 by a judge thereof, or by a county judge. The appointment cannot be made
18 until after service of the summons in the action as directed by this
19 code.
20 Sec. 3. Section 43-101, Reissue Revised Statutes of Nebraska, is
21 amended to read:
22 43-101 (1) Except as otherwise provided in the Nebraska Indian Child
23 Welfare Act, any minor child may be adopted by any adult person or
24 persons and any adult child may be adopted by the spouse of such child's
25 parent in the cases and subject to sections 43-101 to 43-115, except that
26 no person having a spouse husband or wife may adopt a minor child unless
27 the spouse husband or wife joins in the petition therefor. If the spouse
28 husband or wife so joins in the petition therefor, the adoption shall be
29 by them jointly, except that an adult spouse husband or wife may adopt a
30 child of the other spouse whether born in or out of wedlock.
31 (2) Any adult child may be adopted by any person or persons subject
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1 to sections 43-101 to 43-115, except that no person having a spouse
2 husband or wife may adopt an adult child unless the spouse husband or
3 wife joins in the petition therefor. If the spouse husband or wife so
4 joins the petition therefor, the adoption shall be by them jointly. The
5 adoption of an adult child by another adult or adults who are not the
6 stepparent of the adult child may be permitted if the adult child has had
7 a parent-child relationship with the prospective parent or parents for a
8 period of at least six months next preceding the adult child's age of
9 majority and (a) the adult child has no living parents, (b) the adult
10 child's parent or parents had been deprived of parental rights to such
11 child by the order of any court of competent jurisdiction, (c) the parent
12 or parents, if living, have relinquished the adult child for adoption by
13 a written instrument, (d) the parent or parents had abandoned the child
14 for at least six months next preceding the adult child's age of majority,
15 or (e) the parent or parents are incapable of consenting. The substitute
16 consent provisions of section 43-105 do not apply to adoptions under this
17 subsection.
18 Sec. 4. For purposes of sections 43-101 to 43-115:
19 (1) Acknowledged father means an individual who has:
20 (a) Executed a valid acknowledgement of paternity; or
21 (b) Acknowledged paternity through establishment of a familial
22 relationship with the child for a period of at least six months;
23 (2) Adjudicated father means an individual who has been determined
24 by a court of competent jurisdiction, in this state or in another state
25 or territory of the United States, to be the biological or legal father
26 of a minor child; and
27 (3) Juvenile court means the separate juvenile court where it has
28 been established pursuant to sections 43-2,111 to 43-2,127 and the county
29 court sitting as a juvenile court in all other counties.
30 Sec. 5. Section 43-102, Revised Statutes Cumulative Supplement,
31 2020, is amended to read:
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1 43-102 (1) Except as otherwise provided in the Nebraska Indian
2 Child Welfare Act, any person or persons desiring to adopt a minor child
3 or an adult child shall file a petition for adoption signed and sworn to
4 by the person or persons desiring to adopt. The following shall be filed
5 prior to the hearing required under section 43-103:
6 (a) The consent or consents required by sections 43-104 and 43-105
7 or section 43-104.07;
8 (b) The , the documents required by section 43-104.07 or the
9 documents required by sections 43-104.08 to 43-104.24;
10 (c) A 43-104.25, and a completed preplacement adoptive home study if
11 required by section 43-107;
12 (d) The completed and signed affidavit described in section
13 43-104.09 if required by such section;
14 (e) The completed and signed affidavit described in section
15 43-104.16 if required by such section; and
16 (f) When a consent is not required under subdivision (4)(c) of
17 section 43-104, a certified copy of the termination order shall be filed
18 prior to the hearing required in section 43-103.
19 (2) The county court of the county in which the person or persons
20 desiring to adopt a child reside has jurisdiction of adoption
21 proceedings, except that if a separate juvenile court already has
22 jurisdiction over the child to be adopted under the Nebraska Juvenile
23 Code, such separate juvenile court has concurrent jurisdiction with the
24 county court in such adoption proceeding. If a child to be adopted is a
25 ward of any court or a ward of the state at the time of placement and at
26 the time of filing an adoption petition, the person or persons desiring
27 to adopt shall not be required to be residents of Nebraska. The petition
28 and all other court filings for an adoption proceeding shall be filed
29 with the clerk of the county court. The party shall state in the petition
30 whether such party requests that the proceeding be heard by the county
31 court or, in cases in which a separate juvenile court already has
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1 jurisdiction over the child to be adopted under the Nebraska Juvenile
2 Code, such separate juvenile court. Such proceeding is considered a
3 county court proceeding even if heard by a separate juvenile court judge
4 and an order of the separate juvenile court in such adoption proceeding
5 has the force and effect of a county court order. The testimony in an
6 adoption proceeding heard before a separate juvenile court judge shall be
7 preserved as in any other separate juvenile court proceeding.
8 Except as set out in subdivisions (1)(b)(ii), (iii), (iv), and (v)
9 of section 43-107, an adoption decree shall not be issued until at least
10 six months after an adoptive home study has been completed by the
11 Department of Health and Human Services or a licensed child placement
12 agency.
13 Sec. 6. Section 43-104, Reissue Revised Statutes of Nebraska, is
14 amended to read:
15 43-104 (1) Except as otherwise provided in this section and in the
16 Nebraska Indian Child Welfare Act, no adoption shall be decreed unless
17 written consents thereto are filed in the county court of the county in
18 which the person or persons desiring to adopt reside or in the county
19 court in which the separate juvenile court having jurisdiction over the
20 custody of the child is located and the written consents are executed by:
21 (a) The the minor child, if over fourteen years of age; and
22 (b) Both , or the adult child, (b) any district court, county court,
23 or separate juvenile court in the State of Nebraska having jurisdiction
24 of the custody of a minor child by virtue of proceedings had in any
25 district court, county court, or separate juvenile court in the State of
26 Nebraska or by virtue of the Uniform Child Custody Jurisdiction and
27 Enforcement Act, and (c) both parents of a child born in lawful wedlock
28 if living, the surviving parent of a child born in lawful wedlock, the
29 mother of a child born out of wedlock, or both the mother and father of a
30 child born out of wedlock as determined pursuant to sections 43-104.08 to
31 43-104.24 43-104.25.
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1 (2) On and after April 20, 2002, a A written consent or
2 relinquishment for adoption under this section shall not be valid unless
3 signed at least forty-eight hours after the birth of the child.
4 (3) A petition for adoption shall attest that, at the time of
5 filing:
6 (a) There were no pending motions in any other court having
7 jurisdiction over the minor child; and
8 (b) If a juvenile court has jurisdiction over the child, that
9 adoption is the permanency goal in proceedings in juvenile court.
10 (4) (2) Consent shall not be required of any parent: who
11 (a) Who has relinquished the child for adoption by a written
12 instrument; ,
13 (b) Who has abandoned the child for at least six months next
14 preceding the filing of the adoption petition; ,
15 (c) Whose has been deprived of his or her parental rights to such
16 child have been terminated by the order of any court of competent
17 jurisdiction; , or
18 (d) Who is incapable of consenting.
19 (5) (3) Consent shall not be required of a putative father who has
20 failed to timely file:
21 (a) A a Notice of Objection to Adoption and Intent to Obtain Custody
22 pursuant to section 43-104.02 and, with respect to the absence of such
23 filing, a certificate has been filed pursuant to section 43-104.04; or
24 (b) A a petition pursuant to section 43-104.05 for the adjudication
25 of such father's objection to the adoption notice and a determination of
26 whether his consent to the adoption is required and the mother of the
27 child has timely executed a valid relinquishment and consent to the
28 adoption pursuant to such section.
29 (6) Consent shall not be required of an acknowledged or adjudicated
30 father who has failed to timely file a petition pursuant to section
31 43-104.05 for the adjudication of such notice and a determination of
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1 whether his consent to the adoption is required and the mother of the
2 child has timely executed a valid relinquishment and consent to the
3 adoption pursuant to such section.
4 (7) (4) Consent shall not be required of an acknowledged father, an
5 adjudicated father, or putative father who is not required to consent to
6 the adoption pursuant to section 43-104.05 or 43-104.22.
7 (8) The validity of a relinquishment and consent for adoption is not
8 affected by the fact that a relinquishing person is a minor.
9 Sec. 7. Section 43-104.01, Reissue Revised Statutes of Nebraska, is
10 amended to read:
11 43-104.01 (1) The Department of Health and Human Services shall
12 establish a putative biological father registry. The department shall
13 maintain such registry and shall record the names and addresses of (a)
14 any person adjudicated by a court of this state or by a court of another
15 state or territory of the United States to be the biological father of a
16 child born out of wedlock if a certified copy of the court order is filed
17 with the registry by such person or any other person, (b) any putative
18 father who has filed with the registry, prior to the receipt of notice
19 under sections 43-104.12 to 43-104.16, a Request for Notification of
20 Intended Adoption with respect to such child, and (c) any putative father
21 who has filed with the registry a Notice of Objection to Adoption and
22 Intent to Obtain Custody with respect to such child.
23 (2) A Request for Notification of Intended Adoption or a Notice of
24 Objection to Adoption and Intent to Obtain Custody filed with the
25 registry shall include (a) the putative father's name, address, and
26 social security number, (b) the name and last-known address of the
27 mother, (c) the month and year of the birth or the expected birth of the
28 child, (d) the case name, court name, and location of any Nebraska court
29 having jurisdiction over the custody of the child, and (e) a statement by
30 the putative father that he acknowledges liability for contribution to
31 the support and education of the child after birth and for contribution
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1 to the pregnancy-related medical expenses of the mother of the child. The
2 person filing the notice shall notify the registry of any change of
3 address pursuant to procedures prescribed in rules and regulations of the
4 department.
5 (3) A request or notice filed under this section or section
6 43-104.02 shall be admissible in any action for paternity and shall estop
7 the putative father from denying paternity of such child thereafter.
8 (4) Any putative father who files a Request for Notification of
9 Intended Adoption or a Notice of Objection to Adoption and Intent to
10 Obtain Custody with the putative biological father registry may revoke
11 such filing. Upon receipt of such revocation by the registry, the effect
12 shall be as if no filing had ever been made.
13 (5) The department shall not divulge the names and addresses of
14 persons listed with the biological father registry to any other person
15 except as authorized by law or upon order of a court of competent
16 jurisdiction for good cause shown.
17 (5) (6) The department may develop information about the registry
18