The unique nature of a relative adoption requires different procedures during the adoption process; this section outlines those required procedures.
A relative adoption occurs when a parent or guardian1 with legal and physical custody of a child formally places the child for adoption with a relative.2 MCL 710.23a(4).
A.Termination of Parent’s Parental Rights
A parent may voluntarily relinquish his or her parental rights and consent to the child’s placement with a relative. See MCL 710.22(l); MCL 710.22(s); MCL 710.23a(4). However, to formally place a child with a relative, the other parent’s parental rights over the child must also be terminated, voluntarily or involuntarily. See MCL 710.31(1); MCL 710.41(1). For a discussion on consent adoptions, see Section 2.6, voluntary termination during a child protective proceeding, see Section 2.5, and involuntary termination, see Part 2: Involuntary Termination.
The child is formally placed once the court approves the placement and both parents’ parental rights are terminated. See MCL 710.22(p); MCL 710.51. For a discussion on formal placements, see Chapter 6.
B.Continuation of Support Obligation
Voluntary or involuntary termination of a parent’s parental rights does not automatically terminate the parent’s obligation to provide support for the child; rather, a parent’s “obligation to support the child will continue until a court of competent jurisdiction modifies or terminates the obligation, an order of adoption is entered, or the child is emancipated by operation of law.” See MCR 3.804(C) (requiring that the parent be informed of this obligation before executing a release or consent to adoption); MCR 3.809 (requiring that the court provide oral or written notice of this obligation to a parent whose parental rights are involuntary terminated).
C.Identifying and Nonidentifying Information
Although the compilation of information does not apply to relative adoptions, the release of identifying and nonidentifying information does. MCL 710.27(6); MCL 710.68(17). For a discussion on the compilation of identifying and nonidentifying information, see Section 9.2, and for a discussion on releasing the identifying and nonidentifying information, see Sections 9.7-9.8.
1 For a discussion on a guardian’s ability to execute a consent to adopt, see Section 2.6(C)(2).
2 See SCAO Form PCA 301, Petition for Adoption.