The Vermont Statutes Online
The Vermont Statutes Online have been updated to include the actions of the 2023 session of the General Assembly.
NOTE: The Vermont Statutes Online is an unofficial copy of the Vermont Statutes Annotated that is provided as a convenience.
Title 15A : Adoption Act
Chapter 002 : Adoption of Minors
Subchapter 004 : Consent to and Relinquishment for Adoption
(Cite as: 15A V.S.A. § 2-404)-
§ 2-404. Time and prerequisites for execution of consent or relinquishment
(a) A parent whose consent to the adoption of a minor is required by section 2-401 of this title may not execute a consent or a relinquishment sooner than 36 hours after the minor is born. A parent who executes a consent or relinquishment may revoke the consent or relinquishment within 21 days after the consent or relinquishment is executed by filing a written notice in the court in which the consent was executed.
(b) A guardian may execute a consent to the adoption of a minor or a relinquishment at any time after being authorized by a court to do so.
(c) An agency that places a minor for adoption may execute its consent at any time before or during the hearing on the petition for adoption.
(d) A minor adoptee whose consent is required may execute a consent at any time at or before the hearing on the petition for adoption.
(e) Before executing a consent or relinquishment, a parent shall have been informed of the meaning and consequences of adoption, the availability of personal and legal counseling, the consequences of misidentifying the other parent, the procedure for releasing information about the health and other characteristics of the parent which may affect the physical or psychological well-being of the adoptee, and the procedure for the release of the parent’s identity pursuant to Article 6 of this title. (Added 1995, No. 161 (Adj. Sess.), § 1.)
