2017 Colorado Revised Statutes
Title 19 - Children's Code
Article 5 - Relinquishment and Adoption
Part 2 - Adoption
§ 19-5-211. Legal effects of final decree
(1) After the entry of a final decree of adoption, the person adopted shall be, to all intents and purposes, the child of the petitioner. He shall be entitled to all the rights and privileges and be subject to all the obligations of a child born in lawful wedlock to the petitioner.
(1.5) An employer who permits paternity or maternity time off for biological parents following the birth of a child shall, upon request, make such time off available for individuals adopting a child. If the employer has established a policy providing time off for biological parents, that period of time shall be the minimum period of leave available for adoptive parents. Requests for additional leave due to the adoption of an ill child or a child with a disability shall be considered on the same basis as comparable cases of such complications accompanying the birth of such a child to an employee or employee's spouse. Any other benefits provided by the employer, such as job guarantee or pay, shall be available to both adoptive and biological parents on an equal basis. An employer shall not penalize an employee for exercising the rights provided by this subsection (1.5). The provisions of this subsection (1.5) shall not apply to an adoption by the spouse of a custodial parent or to a second-parent adoption.
(2) The parents shall be divested of all legal rights and obligations with respect to the child, and the adopted child shall be free from all legal obligations of obedience and maintenance with respect to the parents.
(2.5) The child shall be eligible for enrollment and coverage by any medical or dental insurance held by the prospective adoptive parents if, and on such a basis as, such coverage would be available to a child naturally born to the prospective adoptive parents.
(3) Nothing in this part 2 shall be construed to divest any natural parent or child of any legal right or obligation where the adopting parent is a stepparent and is married to said natural parent.
