(j) If the judge of probate finds that the putative father parent of the child has not petitioned or appeared within the period required by this section or has not met the requirements of subsection (i), the judge shall rule that the putative father parent has no parental rights and that only the biological mother of the child need consent to adoption or a surrender and release.

Sec. D-6. 18-A MRSA §9-202, sub-§(a), as amended by PL 1997, c. 239, §2 and affected by §6, is further amended to read:

(a) With the approval of the judge of probate of any county within the State and after a determination by the judge that a surrender and release or a consent is in the best interest of the child, the parents or surviving parent of a child may at any time after the child's birth:

(1) Surrender and release all parental rights to the child and the custody and control of the child to a licensed child-placing agency or the department to enable the licensed child-placing agency or the department to have the child adopted by a suitable person; or

(2) Consent to have the child adopted by a specified petitioner.

The parents or the surviving parent must execute the surrender and release or the consent in the presence of the judge. The adoptee, if 14 years of age or older, must execute the consent in the presence of the judge. The waiver of notice by the legal father who is not the biological father or putative father a putative parent is governed by section 9-201, subsection (c).

Sec. D-7. 18-A MRSA §9-202, sub-§(h), as enacted by PL 1995, c. 694, Pt. C, §7 and affected by Pt. E, §2, is amended to read:

(h) The court shall accept a consent or a surrender and release by a court of comparable jurisdiction in another state if the court receives an affidavit from a member of that state's bar or a certificate from that court of comparable jurisdiction stating that:

(1) The party executing the consent or the surrender and release followed the procedure required to make a consent or