Bill Text: NY A07516 | 2019-2020 | General Assembly | Introduced
Bill Title: Relates to conditional surrender of parental rights in family and surrogate's court.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 2-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2020-01-08 - referred to judiciary [A07516 Detail]
Download: New_York-2019-A07516-Introduced.html
STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 7516 2019-2020 Regular Sessions IN ASSEMBLY May 8, 2019 ___________ Introduced by M. of A. SIMOTAS, DINOWITZ -- (at request of the Office of Court Administration) -- read once and referred to the Committee on Judiciary AN ACT to amend the domestic relations law, the family court act and the social services law, in relation to conditional surrenders of parental rights in family and surrogate's court The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. Subdivisions 1 and 2 of section 112-b of the domestic 2 relations law, subdivision 1 as added by section 63 of part A of chapter 3 3 of the laws of 2005 and subdivision 2 as amended by chapter 41 of the 4 laws of 2010, are amended to read as follows: 5 1. Nothing in this section shall be construed to prohibit the parties 6 to a proceeding under this chapter from entering into an agreement 7 regarding communication with or contact between an adoptive child, adop- 8 tive parent or parents and a birth parent or parents and/or the adoptive 9 child's biological siblings or half-siblings, provided, however, that 10 such an agreement shall not be legally enforceable unless the judicial 11 approval of the agreement has been incorporated into a written order 12 entered by the court in accordance with subdivision two of this section. 13 2. (a) Agreements regarding communication or contact between an adop- 14 tive child, adoptive parent or parents, and a birth parent or parents 15 and/or biological siblings or half-siblings of an adoptive child shall 16 not be legally enforceable unless the terms of the agreement are incor- 17 porated into a written court order entered in accordance with the 18 provisions of this section. An agreement for contact or communication 19 between the child and his or her siblings or half-siblings where the 20 child and/or siblings or half-siblings are fourteen years of age or 21 older shall not be enforceable unless such child and such sibling or 22 half-sibling consent to the agreement in writing. The court shall not 23 incorporate an agreement regarding communication or contact into an EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [] is old law to be omitted. LBD09848-01-9A. 7516 2 1 order unless the terms and conditions of the agreement have been set 2 forth in writing and consented to in writing by the parties to the 3 agreement, including the attorney representing the adoptive child. The 4 court shall not enter a proposed order unless the court in which the 5 surrender was executed or the court that approved the surrender of the 6 child determined and stated in its order that the communication with or 7 contact between the adoptive child, the prospective adoptive parent or 8 parents and a birth parent or parents and/or biological siblings or 9 half-siblings, as agreed upon and as set forth in the agreement, would 10 be in the adoptive child's best interests. Notwithstanding any other 11 provision of law, a copy of the order entered pursuant to this section 12 incorporating the post-adoption contact agreement shall be given to all 13 parties who have agreed to the terms and conditions of such order. 14 (b) With respect to surrenders executed on or after January first, two 15 thousand twenty, an agreement regarding communication or contact follow- 16 ing an adoption is only enforceable if approval of the agreement has 17 been incorporated into an order in conjunction with a surrender executed 18 before a judge; provided, however, that an agreement regarding communi- 19 cation or contact following an adoption of a child from an authorized 20 agency made in conjunction with an extra-judicial surrender may be 21 enforceable if the following additional conditions have been met: (i) 22 the party or parties surrendering the child attest in a sworn affidavit 23 that it would be an undue hardship to appear in court to execute the 24 surrender; and (ii) the party or parties surrendering the child were 25 represented by counsel and such counsel was present at the execution of 26 the surrender and informed the surrendering party or parties of the 27 requirements for enforceability of the post-adoption contact agreement. 28 § 2. Paragraph (iv) of subdivision (a) of section 262 of the family 29 court act, as amended by chapter 3 of the laws of 2012, is amended to 30 read as follows: 31 (iv) the parent or person legally responsible, foster parent, or other 32 person having physical or legal custody of the child in any proceeding 33 under article ten or ten-A of this act or section three hundred fifty- 34 eight-a, three hundred eighty-three-c, three hundred eighty-four or 35 three hundred eighty-four-b of the social services law, and a non-custo- 36 dial parent or grandparent served with notice pursuant to paragraph (e) 37 of subdivision two of section three hundred eighty-four-a of the social 38 services law; 39 § 3. Paragraph (b) of subdivision 2 of section 383-c of the social 40 services law, as amended by chapter 41 of the laws of 2010, is amended 41 to read as follows: 42 (b) (i) If a surrender instrument designates a particular person or 43 persons who will adopt a child, such person or persons, the child's 44 birth parent or parents, the authorized agency having care and custody 45 of the child and the child's attorney[,] may enter into a written agree- 46 ment providing for communication or contact between the child and the 47 child's parent or parents on such terms and conditions as may be agreed 48 to by the parties. Such terms and conditions shall be set forth in writ- 49 ing and consented to in writing by the parties to the agreement, includ- 50 ing the attorney representing the child. 51 (ii) If a surrender instrument does not designate a particular person 52 or persons who will adopt the child, then the child's birth parent or 53 parents, the authorized agency having care and custody of the child and 54 the child's attorney may enter into a written agreement providing for 55 communication or contact, on such terms and conditions as may be agreed 56 to by the parties. Such terms and conditions shall be set forth in writ-A. 7516 3 1 ing and consented to in writing by the parties to the agreement, includ- 2 ing the attorney representing the child. 3 (iii) Such agreement also may provide terms and conditions for commu- 4 nication with or contact between the child and the child's biological 5 siblings or half-siblings, if any. If any such sibling or half-sibling 6 is fourteen years of age or older, such terms and conditions shall not 7 be enforceable unless such sibling or half-sibling consents to the 8 agreement in writing. 9 (iv) If the court before which the surrender instrument is presented 10 for approval determines that the agreement concerning communication and 11 contact is in the child's best interests, the court shall approve the 12 agreement and incorporate such approval into a written court order, a 13 copy of which shall be given to the parties. If the court does not 14 approve the agreement, the court may nonetheless approve the surrender; 15 provided, however, that the birth parent or parents executing the 16 surrender instrument shall be informed that the agreement is not 17 enforceable in a court of law and shall be given the opportunity at that 18 time to withdraw such instrument. 19 (v) Enforcement of any agreement prior to the adoption of the child 20 shall be in accordance with subdivision (b) of section one thousand 21 fifty-five-a of the family court act. Subsequent to the adoption of the 22 child, enforcement of any agreement shall be in accordance with section 23 one hundred twelve-b of the domestic relations law. 24 § 4. Subdivision 4 of section 383-c of the social services law is 25 amended by adding a new paragraph (g) to read as follows: 26 (g) A surrender of a child, executed on or after January first, two 27 thousand twenty, which is made in conjunction with an agreement contain- 28 ing conditions, including, but not limited to, identifying the prospec- 29 tive adoptive parent or parents or prescribing communication or contact 30 with the child and the adoptive parent or parents and/or between the 31 child and his or her biological siblings or half-siblings following the 32 surrender and adoption of the child shall be executed before a judge; 33 provided, however, that such an agreement made in conjunction with an 34 extra-judicial surrender executed after such date may be enforceable if 35 the following conditions have been met in addition to those delineated 36 in paragraph (b) of this subdivision: (i) the party or parties surren- 37 dering the child attest in a sworn affidavit that it would be an undue 38 hardship to appear in court to execute the surrender; and (ii) the party 39 or parties surrendering the child were represented by counsel and such 40 counsel was present at the execution of the surrender and informed the 41 surrendering party or parties of the requirements for enforceability of 42 the agreement. 43 § 5. Subparagraphs (ii) and (iii) of paragraph (b) of subdivision 5 of 44 section 383-c of the social services law, subparagraph (ii) as amended 45 by chapter 601 of the laws of 1994 and subparagraph (iii) as added by 46 chapter 479 of the laws of 1990, are amended to read as follows: 47 (ii) that the parent is giving up all rights to have custody, visit 48 with, speak with, write to or learn about the child, forever, unless the 49 parties have agreed to different terms pursuant to subdivision two of 50 this section[,] and unless such terms are written in the surrender or 51 are written in an agreement approved by the court in an order in accord- 52 ance with such subdivision, or, if the parent registers with the 53 adoption information register, as specified in section forty-one hundred 54 thirty-eight-d of the public health law, that the parent may be 55 contacted at anytime after the child reaches the age of eighteen years, 56 but only if both the parent and the adult child so choose;A. 7516 4 1 (iii) that the child will be adopted without the parent's consent and 2 without further notice to the parent, and will be adopted by any person 3 that the agency chooses, unless the surrender paper or an agreement 4 approved by the court in an order in accordance with subdivision two of 5 this section contains the name of the person or persons who will be 6 adopting the child; and 7 § 6. Paragraph (b) of subdivision 2 of section 384 of the social 8 services law, as amended by chapter 41 of the laws of 2010, is amended 9 to read as follows: 10 (b) (i) If a surrender instrument designates a particular person or 11 persons who will adopt a child, such person or persons, the child's 12 birth parent or parents, the authorized agency having care and custody 13 of the child and the child's attorney[,] may enter into a written agree- 14 ment providing for communication or contact between the child and the 15 child's parent or parents on such terms and conditions as may be agreed 16 to by the parties. Such terms and conditions shall be set forth in writ- 17 ing and consented to in writing by the parties to the agreement, includ- 18 ing the attorney representing the child. 19 (ii) If a surrender instrument does not designate a particular person 20 or persons who will adopt the child, then the child's birth parent or 21 parents, the authorized agency having care and custody of the child and 22 the child's attorney may enter into a written agreement providing for 23 communication or contact, on such terms and conditions as may be agreed 24 to by the parties. Such terms and conditions shall be set forth in writ- 25 ing and consented to in writing by the parties to the agreement, includ- 26 ing the attorney representing the child. 27 (iii) Such agreement also may provide terms and conditions for commu- 28 nication with or contact between the child and the child's biological 29 sibling or half-sibling, if any. If the child or any such sibling or 30 half-sibling is fourteen years of age or older, [such terms and condi-31tions] an agreement for contact or communication between the child and 32 his or her siblings or half-siblings shall not be enforceable unless 33 such child, sibling or half-sibling consents to the agreement in writ- 34 ing. 35 (iv) If the court before which the surrender instrument is presented 36 for execution or approval, determines that the agreement [concerning37communication and contact] is in the child's best interests, the court 38 shall approve the agreement and incorporate such approval into a written 39 court order, a copy of which shall be given to the parties. If the court 40 does not approve the agreement, the court may nonetheless approve the 41 surrender; provided, however, that the birth parent or parents executing 42 the surrender instrument shall be informed that the agreement is not 43 enforceable in a court of law and shall be given the opportunity at that 44 time to withdraw such instrument. Enforcement of any agreement prior to 45 the adoption of the child shall be in accordance with subdivision (b) of 46 section one thousand fifty-five-a of the family court act. Subsequent to 47 the adoption of the child, enforcement of any agreement shall be in 48 accordance with section one hundred twelve-b of the domestic relations 49 law. 50 § 7. Subdivision 3 of section 384 of the social services law, as 51 amended by chapter 479 of the laws of 1990, the opening paragraph as 52 amended by chapter 185 of the laws of 2006, the fifth undesignated para- 53 graph as added by chapter 680 of the laws of 2007, the sixth undesig- 54 nated paragraph and the closing paragraph as added by chapter 76 of the 55 laws of 2002, and subparagraphs (i) and (ii) of the sixth undesignatedA. 7516 5 1 paragraph as amended by chapter 41 of the laws of 2010, is amended to 2 read as follows: 3 3. Instrument and intervention. (a) The instrument herein provided 4 shall be executed and acknowledged [(a)] (i) before any judge or surro- 5 gate in this state having jurisdiction over adoption proceedings, except 6 that if the child is being surrendered as a result of, or in connection 7 with, a proceeding before the family court pursuant to article ten or 8 ten-A of the family court act, the instrument shall be executed and 9 acknowledged in the family court that exercised jurisdiction over such 10 proceeding and shall be assigned, wherever practicable, to the judge who 11 last presided over such proceeding; or [(b)] (ii) in the presence of one 12 or more witnesses and acknowledged by such witness or witnesses, in the 13 latter case before a notary public or other officer authorized to take 14 proof of deeds, and shall be recorded in the office of the county clerk 15 in the county where such instrument is executed, or where the principal 16 office of such authorized agency is located, in a book which such county 17 clerk shall provide and shall keep under seal. 18 (b) A surrender of a child, executed on or after January first, two 19 thousand twenty, which is made in conjunction with an agreement contain- 20 ing conditions, including, but not limited to, identifying the prospec- 21 tive adoptive parent or parents or prescribing communication or contact 22 with the child and the adoptive parent or parents and/or between the 23 child and his or her biological siblings or half-siblings following the 24 surrender and adoption of the child shall be executed before a judge; 25 provided, however, that such an agreement made in conjunction with an 26 extra-judicial surrender executed after such date may be enforceable if 27 the following conditions have been met in addition to those delineated 28 in paragraph (b) of subdivision two of this section: 29 (i) the party or parties surrendering the child attest in a sworn 30 affidavit that it would be an undue hardship to appear in court to 31 execute the surrender; and 32 (ii) the party or parties surrendering the child were represented by 33 counsel and such counsel was present at the execution of the surrender 34 and informed the surrendering party or parties of the requirements for 35 enforceability of the agreement. 36 (c) Such record shall be subject to inspection and examination only as 37 provided in subdivisions three and four of section three hundred seven- 38 ty-two of this title. 39 (d) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, if the parent surren- 40 dering the child for adoption is in foster care the instrument shall be 41 executed before a judge of the family court. 42 (e) Whenever the term surrender or surrender instrument is used in any 43 law relating to the adoption of children who are not in foster care, it 44 shall mean and refer exclusively to the instrument [hereinabove] 45 described in this subdivision for the commitment of the guardianship of 46 the person and the custody of a child to an authorized agency by his or 47 her parents, parent or guardian; and in no case shall it be deemed to 48 apply to any instrument purporting to commit the guardianship of the 49 person and the custody of a child to any person other than an authorized 50 agency, nor shall such term or the provisions of this section be deemed 51 to apply to any instrument transferring the care and custody of a child 52 to an authorized agency pursuant to section three hundred eighty-four-a 53 of this [chapter] title. 54 (f)(i) Any person or persons having custody of a child for the purpose 55 of adoption through an authorized agency shall be permitted as a matter 56 of right, as an interested party, to intervene in any proceedingA. 7516 6 1 commenced to set aside a surrender purporting to commit a guardianship 2 of the person or custody of a child executed under the provisions of 3 this section. Such intervention may be made anonymously or in the true 4 name of said person. 5 (ii) Any person or persons having custody for more than twelve months 6 through an authorized agency for the purpose of foster care shall be 7 permitted as a matter of right, as an interested party, to intervene in 8 any proceeding commenced to set aside a surrender purporting to commit 9 the guardianship of the person and custody of a child executed under the 10 provisions of this section. Such intervention may be made anonymously or 11 in the true name of said person or persons having custody of the child 12 for the purpose of foster care. 13 (g) A copy of such surrender shall be given to [such] the surrendering 14 parent upon the execution thereof. The surrender shall include the 15 following statement: "I, (name of surrendering parent), this ___ day of 16 __________, _____, have received a copy of this surrender. (Signature of 17 surrendering parent)". Such surrendering parent shall so acknowledge the 18 delivery and the date of the delivery in writing on the surrender. 19 (h) Where the parties have agreed that the surrender shall be subject 20 to conditions pursuant to subdivision two of this section, the instru- 21 ment shall further state in plain language that: 22 (i) the authorized agency shall notify the parent, unless such notice 23 is expressly waived by a statement written by the parent and appended to 24 or included in such instrument, the attorney for the child and the court 25 that approved the surrender within twenty days of any substantial fail- 26 ure of a material condition of the surrender prior to the finalization 27 of the adoption of the child; and 28 (ii) except for good cause shown, the authorized agency shall file a 29 petition on notice to the parent unless notice is expressly waived by a 30 statement written by the parent and appended to or included in such 31 instrument and the child's attorney in accordance with section one thou- 32 sand fifty-five-a of the family court act within thirty days of such 33 failure, in order for the court to review such failure and, where neces- 34 sary, to hold a hearing; provided, however, that, in the absence of such 35 filing, the parent and/or attorney for the child may file such a peti- 36 tion at any time up to sixty days after notification of such failure. 37 Such petition filed by a parent or attorney for the child must be filed 38 prior to the child's adoption; and 39 (iii) the parent is obligated to provide the authorized agency with a 40 designated mailing address, as well as any subsequent changes in such 41 address, at which the parent may receive notices regarding any substan- 42 tial failure of a material condition, unless such notification is 43 expressly waived by a statement written by the parent and appended to or 44 included in such instrument. 45 Nothing in this paragraph shall limit the notice on the instrument 46 with respect to a failure to comply with a material condition of a 47 surrender subsequent to the finalization of the adoption of the child. 48 § 8. Subdivision 4 of section 384 of the social services law, as 49 amended by chapter 185 of the laws of 2006, is amended to read as 50 follows: 51 4. Upon petition by an authorized agency, a judge of the family court, 52 or a surrogate, may approve such surrender, on such notice to such 53 persons as the surrogate or judge may in his or her discretion 54 prescribe. If the child is being surrendered as a result of, or in 55 connection with, a proceeding before the family court pursuant to arti- 56 cle ten or ten-A of the family court act, the petition shall be filed inA. 7516 7 1 the family court that exercised jurisdiction over such proceeding and 2 shall be assigned, wherever practicable, to the judge who last presided 3 over such proceeding. The petition shall set forth the names and last 4 known addresses of all persons required to be given notice of the 5 proceeding, pursuant to section three hundred eighty-four-c of this 6 title, and there shall be shown by the petition or by affidavit or other 7 proof satisfactory to the court that there are no persons other than 8 those set forth in the petition who are entitled to notice pursuant to 9 such section. At the time that a parent appears before a judge or surro- 10 gate to execute and acknowledge a surrender or for the judge to approve 11 a surrender, the judge or surrogate shall inform such parent of the 12 right to be represented by legal counsel of the parent's own choosing 13 and of the right to obtain supportive counseling and of any right to 14 have counsel assigned pursuant to section two hundred sixty-two of the 15 family court act, section four hundred seven of the surrogate's court 16 procedure act, or section thirty-five of the judiciary law. No person 17 who has received such notice and been afforded an opportunity to be 18 heard may challenge the validity of a surrender approved pursuant to 19 this subdivision in any other proceeding. However, this subdivision 20 shall not be deemed to require approval of a surrender by a surrogate or 21 judge for such surrender to be valid, provided, however, that an agree- 22 ment made in conjunction with a surrender that contains conditions, 23 including, but not limited to, identifying the prospective adoptive 24 parent or parents or prescribing communication or contact with the child 25 and the adoptive parent or parents and/or between the child and his or 26 her biological siblings or half-siblings following the surrender and 27 adoption of the child shall be enforceable in a court of law only if the 28 requirements of subdivisions two and three of this section have been 29 met. 30 § 9. This act shall take effect on the first of January next succeed- 31 ing the date on which it shall have become a law.
