2011 California Code
Family Code
DIVISION 13. ADOPTION [8500 - 9340]
CHAPTER 3. Independent Adoptions
Section 8802

(a) (1) Any of the following persons who desire to adopt a child may, for that purpose, file a petition in the county in which the petitioner resides or, if the petitioner is not a resident of this state, in the county in which the placing birth parent or birth parents resided when the adoption placement agreement was signed, or the county in which the placing birth parent or birth parents resided when the petition was filed:

(A) An adult who is related to the child or the child s half sibling by blood or affinity, including all relatives whose status is preceded by the words step, great, great-great, or grand, or the spouse of any of these persons, even if the marriage was terminated by death or dissolution.

(B) A person named in the will of a deceased parent as an intended adoptive parent where the child has no other parent.

(C) A person with whom a child has been placed for adoption.

(D) (i) A legal guardian who has been the child s legal guardian for more than one year.

(ii) If the child is alleged to have been abandoned pursuant to Section 7822, a legal guardian who has been the child s legal guardian for more than six months. The legal guardian may file a petition pursuant to Section 7822 in the same court and concurrently with a petition under this section.

(iii) However, if the parent nominated the guardian for a purpose other than adoption for a specified time period, or if the guardianship was established pursuant to Section 360 of the Welfare and Institutions Code, the guardianship shall have been in existence for not less than three years.

(2) If the child has been placed for adoption, a copy of the adoptive placement agreement shall be attached to the petition. The court clerk shall immediately notify the department at Sacramento in writing of the pendency of the proceeding and of any subsequent action taken.

(3) If the petitioner has entered into a postadoption contact agreement with the birth parent as set forth in Section 8616.5, the agreement, signed by the participating parties, shall be attached to and filed with the petition for adoption.

(b) The petition shall contain an allegation that the petitioners will file promptly with the department or delegated county adoption agency information required by the department in the investigation of the proposed adoption. The omission of the allegation from a petition does not affect the jurisdiction of the court to proceed or the validity of an adoption order or other order based on the petition.

(c) The caption of the adoption petition shall contain the names of the petitioners, but not the child s name. The petition shall state the child s sex and date of birth and the name the child had before adoption.

(d) If the child is the subject of a guardianship petition, the adoption petition shall so state and shall include the caption and docket number or have attached a copy of the letters of the guardianship or temporary guardianship. The petitioners shall notify the court of any petition for guardianship or temporary guardianship filed after the adoption petition. The guardianship proceeding shall be consolidated with the adoption proceeding, and the consolidated case shall be heard and decided in the court in which the adoption is pending.

(e) The order of adoption shall contain the child s adopted name, but not the name the child had before adoption.

(Amended by Stats. 2008, Ch. 534, Sec. 10. Effective January 1, 2009.)