Two Witnessess Required for a Consent and Relinquishment

Posted on November 24, 2009 by Russell W. Hall III

In an adoption, the adoptive parents may need to obtain a consent and relinquishment from the biological mother and father. To be valid, South Carolina Code of Laws Section 63-9-340 provides that the consent and relinquishment "must be signed in the presence of two witnesses one of whom must be on of the following:

  1. a judge of any family court in this State;
  2. an attorney licensed to practice law in South Carolina who does not represent the prospective adoption petitioners;
  3. a person certified by the State Department of Social Services...to obtain consents or relinquishments;
  4. when the consent or relinquishment is obtained outside of this State, by an attorney licensed to practice law in that state, by a person designated by an agency of that state, by a person or agency authorized by that state's law to obtain consents or relinquishments or to conduct investigations for adoptions, or by a qualified resident of that state authorized by a South Carolina family court."
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Domestication of Foreign Adoptions

Posted on November 17, 2009 by Russell W. Hall III

The guidelines for obtaining a certificate of a foreign birth and domesticating a foreign adoption can be found at the South Carolina Judicial website. These guidelines will help you determine if you wish to proceed on your own or you wish to have the help of an attorney in domesticating your foreign adoption. 

 

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Remain Anonymous if You Wish

Posted on November 3, 2009 by Russell W. Hall III

South Carolina law provides that "the petitioner [to an adoption] may employ the use of fictitious names where necessary to avoid disclosure of identities of parties or persons. In addition, all adoptions are sealed in South Carolina. These two statutory provision, along with discretion on your part, will help you remain anonymous throughout the adoption process.

It is up to you to determine if you want to remain anonymous or not. The law helps you remain anonymous; is does not require you to remain anonymous.

If you chose, you may be part of the pregnancy and birth of the child. In some instances, especially with older children, you may wish to allow the birth parents to visit with the child and be involved in the child's life. The level of involvement by you in the birth and by the birth parents in child's life after the adoption is completely up to you. The  level of involvement by you and the birth parents can range from no involvement (complete anonymity) to full involvement or something in between; the chose is yours.

 

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