CHAPTER 306
FORMERLY
HOUSE BILL NO. 484
AN ACT TO AMEND TITLES 13 AND 16 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO FOREIGN ADOPTIONS.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF DELAWARE :
Section 1. Amend Section 927(a), Title 13 of the Delaware Code by deleting the phrase “entitled to the application of the principles of full faith and credit” as it appears in that subsection and inserting in lieu thereof the following phrase; “valid in this state.”.
Section 2. Amend Section 927 of Title 13 of the Delaware Code by adding a new subsection (c) to read as follows:
“(c) Adoptive parents seeking an order certifying the validity of their foreign adoption decree shall file the decree with the Family Court in the county in which they reside. An affidavit shall be filed with the decree indicating that the decree was issued in accordance with the laws of the issuing jurisdiction and that the adopted child was not brought into Delaware until the adoption was finalized. The Court shall review the affidavit, decree, and other documents, and if the adoption meets the requirements of this section, the Court shall issue an order certifying the validity of the adoption.”
Section 3. Amend Section 3126, subsection (a), of Title 16 of the Delaware Code by deleting the entire subsection and inserting the following in lieu thereof:
“ (a) Upon the issuance of a final decree of adoption or of an order certifying the validity of a foreign adoption, the clerk of the court in which the decree of adoption was made, or filed in the case of a foreign adoption under § 927 of Title 13 of this code, shall immediately file in the office of the State Registrar, on forms provided by the State Registrar for this purpose, a report setting forth the information required by § 921 of Title 13 of this code, together with a certified copy of the final decree of adoption.”