There must be a complete and absolute surrender of the custody and control of the child to the adopting parents pursuant to the contract of adoption. To meet this requirement:

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  The agreement must not give the person or agency placing the child the authority to regain custody, or give the adopting parent the right to return the child; and

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  The person or agency placing the child must not retain the right to exercise control and supervision over the child.

If the individual attempting adoption is married to the child's natural parent and you have no precedent opinion, submit the case to the Office of the General Counsel (OGC) for an opinion on the issue of surrender.

Where the child is placed with the adopting parents for a probationary period during which the child may be returned at the option of either party, the surrender is not complete and absolute until the period expires, unless both parties agree to make the contract final before the period ends.

After the probationary period ends, if the agency took no action to recover the child and the adopting parents kept the child, we may deem the surrender complete and absolute unless the agency continued to exercise control and supervision over the child.