Pennsylvania Code › Title 231 - RULES OF CIVIL PROCEDURE › Part II - Orphans' COURT RULES › Chapter XV - ADOPTIONS › Rule 15.13 - Adoption

Current through Register Vol. 54, No. 28, July 13, 2024
(a)
Petition.
A petition for adoption under
				23 Pa.C.S. §
										2701
				shall contain the following averments:
(1)
				the name, current address, any other addresses for the past five years, marital
				status, age, occupation, racial background and religious affiliation of the
				petitioners;
(2) the name of the
				adoptee as it appears on the birth certificate or certification of registration
				of the child's birth;
(3) the
				relationship, if any, of the petitioners to the adoptee;
(4) whether the adoptee has resided with the
				petitioners, and if so, the length of time that adoptee has so resided with the
				petitioners;
(5) the name and
				address of the intermediary, if any;
(6) whether the home study and preplacement
				report under
				23 Pa.C.S. §
											2530,
				the Report of an Intention to Adopt under
				23 Pa.C.S. §
											2531,
				and the Report of Intermediary under
				23 Pa.C.S. §
											2533
				have been filed;
(7) if there is no
				intermediary, if no Report of the Intermediary has been or will be filed, or if
				the adoptee has attained 18 years of age, all vital statistics and other
				information required in the Report of the Intermediary, so far as is
				applicable;
(8) whether the
				original birth certificate or certification of registration of the child's
				birth has been filed with the clerk where the adoption petition is being filed,
				and if not whether a birth certificate or certification of registration of the
				child's birth is attached to the petition as an exhibit, and if not previously
				filed or attached, the reason why it is has not been filed or is not attached,
				the efforts made to obtain the birth certificate or certification of
				registration of the child's birth, and evidence available to establish a date
				and place of the adoptee's birth;
(9) whether all the consents required by
				23 Pa.C.S. §
											2711 are
				attached to the petition as exhibits;
(10) whether the criminal history records
				information and child abuse clearance certificate for each Prospective Adoptive
				Parent prepared in accordance with
				23 Pa.C.S. §
											6344(b),
				(d)(1) are attached to the petition as
				exhibits;
(11) whether there are
				any court orders that remain in effect as of the date of the petition's filing
				and which:
(A) terminate parental rights of
				any birth parent, presumptive father, or putative father of the
				adoptee;
(B) establish rights of
				guardianship or custody of the adoptee in any person or entity other than the
				birth parent; or
(C) establish or
				set forth any special conditions concerning placement, custody, guardianship,
				or adoption of the adoptee;
(12) whether there has been compliance with
				the Interstate Compact on the Placement of Children if
				62
				P.S. §§
											761
et seq.
applies to this placement;
(13) if
				any of the reports or exhibits listed in subparagraphs (a)(6)" (a)(12) have not
				been filed or are not attached to the petition, specific averments explaining
				why such reports have not been filed or exhibits have not been attached and the
				reasons showing cause why the court may enter a decree of adoption under
				23 Pa.C.S. §
											2901,
				notwithstanding the absence of all legal requirements having been
				met;
(14) whether the Prospective
				Adoptive Parents and the minor adoptee, if required by
				23 Pa.C.S. §
											2733(c), have been informed
				of the opportunity to enter into a Contact Agreement with any of the minor
				adoptee's birth relatives;
(15) if
				an agreement for post-adoption contact and communication has been negotiated
				and executed by the Prospective Adoptive Parents and one of more birth
				relatives, an averment of one of the following, as applicable:
(A) the date of the order and the name of the
				court approving the Contact Agreement and that the Contact Agreement and court
				order are attached as exhibits to the petition; or
(B) a petition to approve the executed
				proposed agreement for post-adoption contact and communication has been
				submitted and is pending before the court or is being filed under a separate
				petition simultaneously with the filing of this petition;
(16) whether the adoptee will retain his or
				her given birth name or the adoptee's proposed new name if a name change is
				desired;
(17) that the petitioners
				desire to have a "parent-child" relationship established between the
				petitioners and the adoptee; and
(18) that each petitioner has read and
				understands the petition and believes the adoptee's needs and welfare will be
				promoted by the adoption.