GN 00306.225 State Laws on Equitable Adoption

A. Policy — General

1. States Not Recognizing Equitable Adoption

a.
The following States do not permit a child to acquire rights under the theory of equitable adoption, even if the contract to adopt was made in another State and was valid in that State.
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  Arkansas (Based on a change of position for claims filed on or after 09/28/05 or pending on that date, Arkansas has not recognized equitable adoption since at least 1984)
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  Indiana
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  Kentucky
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  Louisiana
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  Mississippi
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  Puerto Rico
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  Tennessee
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  Virginia
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  Washington
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  Wisconsin
Submit to the Office of the General Counsel (OGC) under GN 01010.815 ff. if Arkansas law prior to 1984 is involved.
b.
The following States do not permit a child to acquire such rights under the theory of equitable adoption if the contract to adopt was entered into in that State. However, such contracts made in another State will be enforced if valid and enforceable in that State.
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  Ohio
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  Oregon

2. Submittal to OGC

Submit to OGC under GN 01010.815 ff. if the law of Guam or the U.S. Virgin Islands is involved.

3. Waiting Period or Investigation

If the trial and/or waiting period may be waived according to the chart in GN 00306.225B., assume that it would be waived. Where an investigation is required, assume that it could be completed in one day in the absence of a statutory period.

B. Policy — Chart

This chart shows the State laws concerning equitable adoption.

State	Oral Agreement Acceptable	Agreement to Adopt May be Implied	Giving of Inheritance Rights Required	Trial or Waiting Period Requirement	Waiting Period May Be Waived
Alabama	Yes	Yes	Yes¹	Before 9/15/61, 1 year. After 9/14/61, 6 mos.	No¹
Alaska	Yes	Yes	No	None
American Samoa	Yes	Yes	No	None
Arizona	Yes	Yes	No	6 mos.(1 yr. before 6/20/68)	No
California	Yes	Yes	No	None
Colorado	Yes	Yes	No	30 days²	No
Connecticut	Yes	Yes	No	1 yr.	Yes
Delaware	Yes	Yes	No	1 yr.	Yes³
District of Columbia	Yes	Yes	No	6 mos.	No
Florida	Yes	Yes	No	Before 5/20/55, 60 days. After 5/19/55, 90 days.	Yes⁴
Georgia	Yes	Yes	No	From 5/1/66, 90 days. From 1/1/41-4/30/66, 8 1/2 mos.	No
Hawaii	Yes	Yes	No	Up to 6 mos.	Yes
Idaho	Yes	Yes	No	None
Illinois	Yes	No¹³	No	6 mos.	Yes
Iowa	Yes	Yes	No	180 days	Yes
Kansas	Yes	Yes	No	Before 6/30/51, 7 mos. After 6/29/51, 30 days.	No
Maine	Yes	Yes	No	1 yr.	Yes
Maryland	Yes	Yes	No	30 days	No
Massachusetts	Yes	Yes	No	1 yr. residence	Yes
Michigan	Yes	Yes	No	1 yr.	Yes
Minnesota	Yes	Yes	No	6 mos.	Yes
Missouri	Yes	Yes	No	Before 7/7/97, 9 mos. custody. After 7/6/97, 6 mos.⁵ legal and actual custody.	Yes
Montana	Yes	Yes	No	Before 7/1/75, none. After 6/30/57, 6 mos.	Yes
Nebraska	Yes	Yes	No	6 mos. residence	No
Nevada	Yes	Yes	No	Before 4/6/61, none. After 4/5/61, 6 mos.	No
New Hampshire	Yes	Yes	No	1 yr.	Yes
New Jersey	Yes	Yes	No	1 yr.	Up to 6 mos.
New Mexico	No	Yes	No	6 mos.⁶	No
New York	Yes	Yes	No	Before 6/22/99, 6 mos. On or after 6/22/99, 3 mos.	Yes
North Carolina	No	Yes	Yes	1 yr.⁷	Yes⁸
North Dakota	Yes	Yes	No	6 mos.	Yes
Oklahoma	Yes	No	No	6 mos.⁹	Yes
Pennsylvania	No¹⁰	No	Yes¹¹	6 mos.¹²	No
Rhode Island	Yes	Yes	No	6 mos.	Yes
South Carolina	Yes	No	Yes	None
South Dakota	Yes	Yes	No	6 mos.	No
Texas	Yes	Yes	No	6mos.	Yes
Utah	Yes	Yes	No	1 yr. residence	No
Vermont	Yes	Yes	No	Before 7/1/59, 1 yr. After 6/30/59, 6 mos.	Yes
West Virginia	Yes	Yes	No	6 mos.	No
Wyoming	No	Yes	No	6 mos. residence	No

¹ May be waived in cases of adoption by stepparent and also, after 9/14/61, in cases of adoption by grandparent, brother, sister, aunt, uncle (singly or with their spouses) if child lived with adopter for 1 year.

² Before 7/1/59, no waiting period required if child is grandchild or stepchild, nor if placed by a duly licensed agency, State home for dependent children, or public welfare department. After 6/30/59, no waiting required if petitioner is relative or stepparent.

³ After 6/30/52, only 6 months of waiting period may be waived.

⁴ After 5/19/55, may be waived if adoption is by stepparent, or relative by blood or marriage.

⁵May be waived in situations in which the child at issue has been under the “prior and continuing” jurisdiction of the juvenile court and the individual(s) seeking to adopt the child is the foster parent(s).

⁶ Adoption may not be entered until a child attains one year of age. This requirement may not be waived.

⁷ However, court may shorten period by the length of time child has resided in home of petitioner prior to granting of interlocutory decree, provided child was placed in petitioner's home by superintendent of public welfare or licensed child-placing agency, but no final order may be entered until child has resided in petitioner's home for a period of one year.

⁸ Period may be waived by court if conditions set forth in GN 00306.160 for waiver or interlocutory decree are met or shortened.

⁹ There is no trial or waiting period for decree before 8/28/57.

¹⁰ Change of position effective 8/30/84.

¹¹ Promise of inheritance rights may be expressed or implied from adoption agreement.

¹² Ten days if prospective adoptee related by blood or marriage to prospective adopter.

¹³ Circumstantial evidence may be relied upon to establish the existence and terms of an oral contract to adopt, but an agreement will not be implied based solely on facts, circumstances, and conduct.

To Link to this section - Use this URL:
http://policy.ssa.gov/poms.nsf/lnx/0200306225

GN 00306.225 - State Laws on Equitable Adoption - 11/20/2023
Batch run: 11/20/2023
Rev:11/20/2023

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