1. At the conclusion of the adoption hearing, the court shall:
a. Issue a final adoption decree;
b. Issue an interlocutory adoption decree; or,
c. Dismiss the adoption petition if the requirements of this Act have not been met or if dismissal of the adoption petition is in the best interest of the person whose adoption has been petitioned. Upon dismissal, the court shall determine who is to be guardian or custodian of a minor child, including the adoption petitioner if it is in the best interest of the minor person whose adoption has been petitioned.
2. An interlocutory adoption decree automatically becomes a final adoption decree at a date specified by the court in the interlocutory adoption decree, which date shall not be less than one hundred eighty days nor more than three hundred sixty days from the date the interlocutory decree is issued. However, an interlocutory adoption decree may be vacated prior to the date specified for it to become final. Also, the court may provide in the interlocutory adoption decree for further observation, investigation, and report of the conditions of and the relationships between the adoption petitioner and the person petitioned to be adopted.
3. If an interlocutory adoption decree is vacated under subsection 2, it shall be void from the date of issuance and the rights, duties, and liabilities of all persons affected by it shall, unless they have become vested, be governed accordingly. Upon vacation of an interlocutory adoption decree, the court shall proceed under the provisions of subsection 1, paragraph "c".
4. A final adoption decree terminates any parental rights, except those of a spouse of the adoption petitioner, existing at the time of its issuance and establishes the parent-child relationship between the adoption petitioner and the person petitioned to be adopted. Unless otherwise specified by law, such parent-child relationship shall be deemed to have been created at the birth of the child.
5. An interlocutory or a final adoption decree shall be entered with the clerk of the court. Such decree shall set forth any facts of the adoption petition which have been proven to the satisfaction of the court and any other facts considered to be relevant by the court and shall grant the adoption petition. If so designated in the adoption decree, the name of the adopted person shall be changed by issuance of that decree. The clerk of the court shall, within thirty days of issuance, deliver one certified copy of any adoption decree to the petitioner, one copy of any adoption decree to the department and any agency or person making an independent placement who placed a minor person for adoption, and one certification of adoption as prescribed in section 144.19 to the state registrar of vital statistics. Upon receipt of the certification, the state registrar shall prepare a new birth certificate pursuant to section 144.23 and deliver to the parents named in the decree and any adult person adopted by the decree a copy of the new birth certificate. The parents shall pay the fee prescribed in section 144.46. If the person adopted was born outside the state, the state registrar shall forward the certification of adoption to the appropriate agency in the state or foreign nation of birth. A copy of any interlocutory adoption decree vacation shall be delivered and another birth certificate shall be prepared in the same manner as a certification of adoption is delivered and the birth certificate was originally prepared.
6. The clerk of the district court shall attach to the certified copy of the decree delivered to the department, a copy of the adoption information form required to be attached to the adoption petition under section 600.6, subsection 5.
[R60, § 2601, 2602, 2603; C73, § 2308, 2309, 2310; C97, § 3251, 3252, 3253; S13, § 3253; C24, § 10498, 10499, 10500; C27, 31, 35, § 10501-b5, 10501-b6, 10501-b8; C39, § 10501.5, 10501.6, 10501.8; C46, 50, 54, 58, 62, 66, 71, 73, 75, § 600.5, 600.6, 600.8; C77, 79, 81, § 600.13]
89 Acts, ch 140, §2
Referred to in § 144.23, 598.35, 600.7, 600.12A
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© 1999 Cornell College and League of Women Voters of Iowa
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