Nevada Revised Statutes 127.187 – Requirements; court to retain jurisdiction; no effect on rights of adoptive parent as legal parent
1. The natural parent or parents and the prospective adoptive parent or parents of a child to be adopted may enter into an enforceable agreement that provides for postadoptive contact between:
Terms Used In Nevada Revised Statutes 127.187
- Agency which provides child welfare services: has the meaning ascribed to it in Nevada Revised Statutes 127.003
- Jurisdiction: (1) The legal authority of a court to hear and decide a case. Concurrent jurisdiction exists when two courts have simultaneous responsibility for the same case. (2) The geographic area over which the court has authority to decide cases.
- Service of process: The service of writs or summonses to the appropriate party.
(a) The child and his or her natural parent or parents;
(b) The adoptive parent or parents and the natural parent or parents; or
(c) Any combination thereof.
2. An agreement that provides for postadoptive contact is enforceable if:
(a) The agreement is in writing and signed by the parties;
(b) The agreement is incorporated into an order or decree of adoption; and
(c) In the case of an agreement that concerns a child who was in the custody of an agency which provides child welfare services before being adopted:
(1) The agency which provides child welfare services has determined that the agreement is in the best interest of the child; or
(2) The court has determined, after a hearing, that the agreement is in the best interest of the child.
3. The identity of a natural parent is not required to be included in an agreement that provides for postadoptive contact. If such information is withheld, an agent who may receive service of process for the natural parent must be provided in the agreement.
4. A natural parent or adoptive parent who enters into an agreement that provides for postadoptive contact shall include in the agreement an address at which the natural parent or adoptive parent may receive service of a petition filed pursuant to NRS 127.1885. If a natural parent or adoptive parent refuses or fails to include such an address in an agreement that provides for postadoptive contact, the court may, on the date on which the court enters an order or decree of adoption which incorporates the agreement, order the agency which provides child welfare services to provide the court with the contact information of the natural parent or adoptive parent who refused or failed to include his or her address. If a court so orders, the court shall:
(a) Append the address to the agreement for postadoptive contact; and
(b) Make the address available to any party to the agreement who wishes to file a petition pursuant to NRS 127.1885.
5. If a natural parent or adoptive parent changes his or her address that was included in an agreement that provides for postadoptive contact pursuant to subsection 4, the parent shall file with the clerk of the court notice of the change of address within 15 days after the change of address.
6. A court that enters an order or decree of adoption which incorporates an agreement that provides for postadoptive contact shall retain jurisdiction to enforce, modify or terminate the agreement that provides for postadoptive contact until:
(a) The child reaches 18 years of age;
(b) The child becomes emancipated; or
(c) The agreement is terminated.
7. The establishment of an agreement that provides for postadoptive contact does not affect the rights of an adoptive parent as the legal parent of the child as set forth in NRS 127.160.