Unless the petitioner is a stepparent, the department must make its recommendation to the court based upon its own investigation or the investigative report of another agency. At the hearing, the court must determine whether the petitioner is financially and morally qualified to be an adoptive parent and whether an adoption is in the child's best interest. Prior to the issuance of an adoption order, the necessary consents must be filed, and the petitioner must execute an agreement that he will treat the adopted child as his own. The clerk of courts will then forward the information in the adoption order to the Division of Vital Records, which will issue a new birth certificate for a nominal fee. An adoption establishes a new parent-child relationship.
Special rules apply to the adoption of Native American children.
A person who has been a resident of a South Dakota county for the immediately preceding six months can file a petition for change of name with the clerk of courts for that county. The petition must also include the reason for the change and the requested name. If the court is satisfied that there is a legitimate reason for changing petitioner's name and that there is no substantial reason not to allow the change, it will order that the petitioner's name be changed to the name requested. Domestic Violence Domestic violence can take the form of physical or emotional abuse, either of which can amount to a criminal assault. Although reasonable and moderate punishment of a child is permitted by South Dakota law, other intra-family assaults are not.