(a) A married person, not lawfully separated from the person’s spouse, shall not adopt a child without the consent of the spouse, provided that the spouse is capable of giving that consent.

(b) The consent of the spouse shall not establish any parental rights or responsibilities on the part of the consenting spouse unless that person has consented to adopt the child in a writing filed with the court and is named in the final decree as an adoptive parent. The court shall not name the consenting spouse as an adoptive parent in the final decree unless the consenting spouse has filed a written consent to adopt the child with the court and has an approved adoption home study.

Terms Used In California Family Code 8603

  • Person: includes a natural person, firm, association, organization, partnership, business trust, corporation, limited liability company, or public entity. See California Family Code 105
  • Spouse: includes "registered domestic partner" as required by Section 297. See California Family Code 143

(c) The court may dispense with the consent of a spouse who cannot be located after diligent search, or a spouse determined by the court to lack the capacity to consent. A spouse for whom consent was dispensed shall not be named as an adoptive parent in the final decree.

(Amended by Stats. 2019, Ch. 115, Sec. 111. (AB 1817) Effective January 1, 2020.)

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