Opinion ID: 1833123
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Heading: LSA-R S. 9:402 provides:

Text: Any parent of a child, whether the child was born in wedlock or out of wedlock and whether the parent is over or under twenty-one years of age, may surrender the permanent custody of his child to an agency for the purpose of having the child adopted by appearing before a notary and two witnesses and declaring that all of his rights, authority, and obligations, except those pertaining to property, are transferred to the agency. This authentic act shall be signed by the agency and shall constitute a transfer of custody to the agency after which the agency shall act in lieu of the parent in subsequent adoption proceedings. No surrender of the custody of a child shall be valid unless it is executed according to the provisions of this Part. On its face, the statute is clear. It authorizes the surrender of permanent custody to a licensed agency and the transfer to that agency of all of the parents' rights, authority, and obligations, excepting only those pertaining to property. Thereafter, the agency acts in lieu of the parents in adoption proceedings. In the case of In re Amorello, 229 La. 304, 85 So.2d 883 (1956), dealing with the surrender of an illegitimate child under this statutory provision, this Court stated: The act of surrender in favor of an accepting agency gives the irrevocable control and custody of the child to that agency with the privilege of placing it for adoption. See also Ball v. Campbell, 219 La. 1076, 55 So.2d 250 (1951); Wadlington, Adoption of Persons under Seventeen in Louisiana, 36 Tul.L.Rev. 201, 214 (1962). Petitioners argue, however, that LSA.R.S. 9:404 makes a distinction between the mother's surrender of an illegitimate child and the parents' surrender of a legitimate child. That section provides: A surrender by the mother of a child born out of wedlock who has not been formally acknowledged or legitimated by the father terminates all parental rights except those pertaining to property. The same shall be true as to a court order of abandonment. However, no surrender or court order of abandonment as to only one living parent of a legitimate child shall be binding upon the other living parent. Specifically, the petitioners argue that the section provides for termination of parental rights when an illegitimate child is surrendered by the mother but contains no such authority for the surrender of a legitimate child. Hence, petitioners reason that the mother's surrender of an illegitimate child is irrevocable, while the parents' surrender of a legitimate child may be revoked. In our opinion, the section does not lend itself to such an interpretation. The section merely regulates the termination of rights when there are two living parents. The mother's surrender of a child born out of wedlock, not formally acknowledged or legitimated by the father, terminates the rights of both parents. The same termination of the rights of both parents results from a court judgment of abandonment rendered against the mother of an illegitimate child. As to legitimate children, no surrender or court order of abandonment as to one parent is binding upon the other. An effective surrender of a legitimate child requires the concurrence of both living parents. Likewise, a judgment of abandonment as to both parents of a legitimate child requires that both parents be parties to the proceeding. This construction is fortified by other provisions of the adoption statute. LSA-R.S. 9:425 dispenses with service of the adoption petition upon the living parents when the child has been legally surrendered to a licensed agency. LSA-R.S. 9:-427 dispenses with the requirement that the Welfare Department locate and consult the living parents when the child has been legally surrendered. LSA-R.S. 9:434 authorizes a final decree of adoption at the first hearing when the child has been placed by a licensed adoption agency. Louisiana is not alone in providing for the irrevocability of an act of surrender to a licensed adoption agency. New Mexico, Nevada, Mississippi, Indiana, Illinois, Ohio, New Jersey, and the District of Columbia are among the jurisdictions which provide that such a surrender by a natural parent is irrevocable, in the absence of fraud or duress. See New Mexico Statutes Ann. § 22-2-27 (Supp.1975); Nev.Rev.Statutes § 127.080; Miss.Code of 1972 Ann. § 93-17-9; Ohio Revised Code Ann. § 3107.06(B)(2); Dist. of Columbia § 16-304 and § 32-786; N.J.Statutes 9:2-16; Acedo v. Arizona Dept. of Public Welfare, 20 Ariz.App. 467, 513 P.2d 1350 (1973); Catholic Charities of the Diocese of Galveston, Inc. v. Harper, 161 Tex. 21, 337 S.W.2d 111 (1960); Gonzales v. Toma, 330 Mich. 35, 46 N.W.2d 453 (1951); Kozak v. Lutheran Children's Aid Society, 164 Ohio 335, 130 N.E.2d 796 (1955); Adoption of Doe, 87 N.M. 253, 531 P.2d 1226 (1975). We conclude that an act of surrender executed by both parents of a legitimate child to a licensed adoption agency in compliance with LSA-R.S. 9:402 is irrevocable.