Adoption

Adoption may occur in any of the following circumstances:

• adoption agreement during pregnancy
• voluntary relinquishment of children under the age of three years by a parent or any person with parental rights
• minors whose permanency plan is adoption and parental rights over the adoptee have been relinquished or terminated

In Puerto Rico, adoptions can be private or public. Public adoptions are those where the adoptee is a minor under the custody of the Department of the Family. Private adoptions, on the other hand, are those carried out among family members. However, for all adoptions, a favorable home study, carried out by the adoption unit of the Department of Family, is required.

It is the right and duty of biological parents to their unemancipated children. Parents with parental rights over their children are required to exercise it responsibly by ensuring their welfare and best interests, including:

• manage their assets
• feed them
• assent to their emancipation
• consent to the adoption of their minor children
• correct them and punish them moderately
• take care of their physical and mental health
• educate them
• name a guardian
• request the appointment of a guardian ad litem, when necessary, during any judicial proceeding
• protect them from physical and moral hazards
• legally represent them
• keep them in their company or live with them

The requirements are:
1. having reached legal age, except when it is a joint adoption and one of the adopters is of legal age and the other is under 21, but not under 18.
2. having the legal capacity to act
3. being at least 14 years older than the minor to be adopted

Yes. The adopter must be married for at least two years and must be at least 14 years older than the adoptee.

No. A person who is single can adopt alone. Likewise, a couple in a relationship analogous to a marriage can adopt together, that is, a relationship with a partner without being married.

Yes. Same-sex partners can adopt in Puerto Rico jointly if they are married or are in a relationship analogous to a marriage.

Yes. A person, a couple, or spouses residing in any of the states of the United States who wish to adopt in Puerto Rico must obtain and assume the costs of a home study that shows their ability and capacity (suitability), in order to determine whether they qualify to enter the Puerto Rico State Voluntary Adoption Registry.

Yes. This adoption process must be carried out with the intervention of the United States Immigration and Naturalization Service.

People who have been declared incapable, for the duration of the incapacity. In addition, persons who have been sentenced to a term of imprisonment may not adopt while serving the sentence.

The following people cannot be adopted:
• persons who have reached legal age on the date of an adoption decree, even if they were minors when the petition for adoption was filed
• people who are married, even if they are minors
• an ascendant of the adopter who is a blood relative or a relative by affinity (such as a parent, grandparent, or great grandparent, etc.)
• a descendant of the adopter (such as children, grandchildren, great grandchildren, etc.)
• a guardian of the person over whom they exercise guardianship (also known as a ward) or vice versa, until the date the final general accounts of the guardianship are approved by a final judicial decree.

The Puerto Rico State Voluntary Adoption Registry (REVA, by its Spanish acronym) allows for the quick identification of potential adopters and minors to be adopted. This electronic registry is confidential and includes the following information:

• a list of all minors with an adoption permanency plan and whose parents have not yet been deprived of parental rights
• a list of all minors with an adoption permanency plan and whose parents have been deprived of parental rights
• a list of all adoptive parties wishing to adopt, in chronological order of their application
• a list of all adoptive parties, with a favorable home study, in chronological order of the study
The Department of the Family uses this information to identify a possible pairing between adopter and adoptee, to be evaluated by the Candidate Selection Panel.

Any person or couple who wishes to enter REVA must complete a request and include the documents required by the Adoption Unit of the Department of the Family that corresponds to their place of residence.
If you wish to adopt or seek orientation as to the adoption process, you may contact the Department of the Family Orientation and Support Line at 1 (888) 359-7777 or (787) 977-8022 for more information.

REVA is confidential, so only the Department of the Family or a legally authorized person has access to this information. However, all adoptees have the right to access the confidential information in REVA concerning their adoption once they reach legal age.

This panel is responsible for evaluating all petitions for adoption received in order to proceed with the placement of the adoptee. The panel consists of five members, appointed by the Secretary of the Department of the Family. This panel is composed of a licensed social worker who must be a member of the College of Social Work Professionals, an attorney, and three additional members with knowledge and experience in the adoption process.

• Adoptive part: a person, a couple, or spouses registered in REVA who wish to be awarded custody and parental rights over the minor to be adopted.
• Adoptee: a minor or an adult, under the exceptions provided by law.
• Biological mother: the woman who gave birth or is pregnant and who freely and voluntarily agrees to relinquish all rights over the future or newborn child in favor of the adoptive party by means of an adoption agreement.
• Father: biological father or man with parental rights who has recognized the child and thus appears in the Vital Statistics Registry.
• Department of the Family or adoption agency
• Family Advocate
• In some cases, the court may appoint a guardian ad litem or a special guardian for the adoptee.

The adoption proceeding can be initiated in one of two ways. If parental rights over the adoptee have been relinquished or terminated, a petition for adoption must be filed with the court. If parental rights over the adoptee have not yet been relinquished or terminated, a petition for termination of parental rights and adoption must be filed.

What are the stages of the adoption proceeding when parental rights over the adoptee have been relinquished or terminated?

In general, the judicial adoption proceeding when parental rights over the child have been relinquished or terminated is divided into the following stages:

1. Petition for Adoption

The court is asked to begin the adoption process. The petition is filed at the Specialized Family Court Division of the Court of First Instance where the adoptive party resides.

2. Notice to Interested Parties

The parties are notified that a petition for adoption has been filed. This notice of process is served either by publication, by personal delivery, or by certified mail with return receipt requested.

3. Answer to the Petition

The parties have 15 days from the date of notice of the petition to state their position.

4. Home Study

This is a report that contains a comprehensive investigation of the family and its environment, based on interviews and observation, in order to provide recommendations to the court as to the adoptee’s welfare and best interests. The Department of the Family has 10 days from the date of notice of the petition for adoption to inform the court whether it has the necessary resources to file the report. If it cannot issue the report, the court will assign a social worker to complete the home study. The Department of the Family or any adoption agency has 30 days from the date of notice of the petition for adoption to file with the court a home study related to the petition for adoption.

5. First Appearance

A first appearance before the court shall be held within 30 days from the date of notice of the petition for adoption. The parties will be informed that, if they do not appear, the court may decree the adoption without hearing them. The court will indicate the date for the hearing on the merits. In this first appearance, the court may grant the petition for adoption, and the process would continue with step number seven.

6. Hearing on the Merits

It will be held no later than 30 days from the date of the first appearance. All parties have the right to submit proof of rebuttal, with the purpose of challenging the documents and witnesses announced in the first appearance. More than one hearing on the merits can be held.

7. Judicial Decree

The court shall issue a decree authorizing the adoption. This decree will establish the new filiation of the adoptee and provide all the information necessary for registration with the Vital Statistics Registry. The new birth certificate will be part of the adoption decree. The decree will be issued no later than 10 days after the hearing on the merits or the first appearance.

8. Notice and Filing

Notice of the adoption decree will be issued no later than 10 days after the date of the decree. The decree will become final 10 days after notice is filed in the record of the case. The parent or person deprived of parental rights will not be served notice.

when parental rights over the adoptee have not yet been relinquished or terminated, instead of a petition for adoption, a petition for termination of parental rights and adoption must be filed. Law No. 61 of 2018 allows for termination of parental rights and adoption to be carried out in the same proceeding. However, the following steps are added:

• Hearing on termination of parental rights

At the hearing, the court determines whether or not to terminate parental rights as to the child to be adopted. This may occur after the first appearance.

• Notice of termination of parental rights

When the court determines that termination of parental authority is appropriate, the parties are notified, and after 30 days of such notice, which is when termination becomes final and unappealable, then follows the process for adoption under Law No. 61 of 2018.

The adoption petition must be made under oath and filed with to the Specialized Family Court Division of the Court of First Instance corresponding to the adopting party’s place of residence.

The petition for adoption shall state the following:

• the names of the adopting party and of the adoptee’s biological parents, and their respective addresses and telephone numbers
• the reasons why adoption is in the child’s best interests, and why it is convenient or necessary
• the name of the adoptee, as it appears on their birth certificate, and the proposed name for the new certificate
• the personal circumstances of the adoptive party, including home address, mailing address, telephone number, employer’s name and address, place of business or company, source of income, pensions or rents, as the case may be, as well as the circumstances showing moral and financial solvency
• the names and last home and mailing address of the adoptee’s biological parents, from whose paternity or maternity they propose to disassociate.
• the information about the legal and de facto custody of the adoptee, when a minor

The following documents must be attached to the petition for adoption:

• Birth certificates of all parties to the case
• Marital status certificate
• Criminal record certificate
• Certification of the Registry of Sexual, Child Abuse, and Domestic Violence Offenders
• Termination parental rights or written consent of the biological parent with parental rights
• Favorable home study
• Motion for hearings and draft resolution
• Draft of the new birth certificate
• Negative debt certification issued by the Child Support Administration (ASUME)
• Consent of the Department of the Family

When parental rights over the minor have not been terminated and the permanency plan approved by the court is adoption, the Department of the Family must file the petition for adoption with the court. In addition, Department employees must ensure that procedural guarantees are safeguarded and that the minor is placed in a home duly accredited by the Department of the Family. Placement should be made within the shortest possible time—45 days after termination of parental rights.

If the child is 10 years old or more, they must be present and consent to their adoption. If they are under 10 years of age, their participation will be at the discretion of the court, and it may not be required if the court believes it is not in their best interests.

No. The hearings in the adoption proceeding are private, so the public is not allowed in the courtroom where such proceedings are held.

They have the right to:

• file a petition for adoption
• intervene as a party and present expert evidence in any proceeding involving to the minor, such as a filiation action, challenging an action for termination of parental rights, child abuse cases, among others.
• request that the adoption proceeding be consolidated with another case involving the adoptee

Yes. The adoption proceeding may be carried out at the same time when several minors share the same biological parents or with any other case involving adoptee.

It depends. As a rule, the adoption decree cannot be revoked. However, the court may be requested to cancel the adoption decree may be annulled within six months from the date on which it was granted if the certain parties required by law were not served notice of the petition for adoption, the consent of the registered father or biological mother was invalid, or when it was obtained as a result of fraud to the court. After such period, the adoption is irrevocable as it is final and unappealable.

It depends. As a rule, the adoption decree cannot be revoked. However, the court may be requested to cancel the adoption decree may be annulled within six months from the date on which it was granted if the certain parties required by law were not served notice of the petition for adoption, the consent of the registered father or biological mother was invalid, or when it was obtained as a result of fraud to the court. After such period, the adoption is irrevocable as it is final and unappealable.