LD 1526
pg. 110
Page 109 of 118 An Act To Enact the Uniform Parentage Act and Conforming Amendments and Additio... Page 111 of 118
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LR 134
Item 1

 
jeopardy and has not abandoned the child, that he the putative
parent is willing and able to take responsibility for the child and
that it is in the best interests of the child, then the judge shall
declare the putative father parent the child's parent with all the
attendant rights and responsibilities.

 
(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


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