Adoption Archives - Page 2 of 2 - Ohio Family Law Blog

New Ohio Adoption Law Helps Adult Adoptees Find Their Original Birth Parents

A new law in Ohio will unseal records for about 400,000 Ohio adult adoptees. This law, Senate Bill 23, was signed by Gov. John Kasich on December 19th. This new law will unseal records and allow these adoptees to find out who their birth parents are. This is done by allowing adult adoptees to access their original birth certificates, which list their birth parents.

According to Adoption Network Cleveland founder and Executive Director, Betsie Norris, this legislation was the sixth attempt to address this issue in the past 25 years. “Birth parents, adoptees, adoptive parents and adoption scholars and professionals all testified in favor of this bill,” she said. “There was no stated opposition, and we are also thrilled that the bill had such overwhelming support in the Ohio Legislature.”

The previous law regarding this type of discovery was very convoluted. Essentially, one law had three separate requirements depending on your age and the time period in which you were adopted. Previously for the adoptees, anyone adopted prior to 1964 had to pay a 20 dollar fee and make a request in order to receive their … Read More...

Proposed Changes To Ohio Adoption Laws Will Erode Putative Fathers’ Rights

Reduction In Contest Time To Favor Adoption Parents In The State Of Ohio

adoption ohio putative fathers On January 29, 2014, the Ohio House of Representatives passed Substitute HB 307, the “Adoption Reform Bill” or, as dubbed by some, the “Make Adoption Cheap and Fast Bill.” Ohio Right to Life groups advocated and lobbied for the Bill’s passage. The Bill was proposed and passed in the general assembly with seventy seven (77) affirmative votes and only fourteen (14) negative votes.

Why is HB 307 important?

HB 307 is very important due to the significant time changes it imposes on putative fathers, the tax benefits it provides for adoptive families, and the clarifications it makes to previous legislation. Many family-law practitioners are expressing concerns that the steep reduction in putative fathers’ rights further erodes the already declining rights of putative fathers in Ohio. To be clear, a “putative father” is one believed to be the father of a child born out of wedlock (without benefit of marriage), unless proved otherwise.

What does HB 307 propose for putative fathers?

HB 307 sets forth six (6) substantial changes to the present statutes governing adoptions. The … Read More... “Adoption in Ohio: Sweeping Changes May be on the Horizon”