A. A petition for adoption shall be filed within sixty days of the adoptee's placement into the proposed adoptive home if the adoptee is under the age of one year. If the adoptee is over the age of one year at the time of placement, the petition shall be filed within one hundred twenty days of the placement. For good cause shown, the court may extend those time limits up to an additional one hundred eighty days if a request for extension is filed prior to the expiration of the initial time limits. No further extensions of time shall be granted after the one hundred eighty day extension period, unless an addendum to the pre-placement study is filed in addition to an affidavit establishing good cause for the delay in filing the adoption petition.
B. If a petition is not filed in a timely manner, any person having knowledge of the proceeding shall notify the department, which may proceed as if the adoptee were a neglected child.
History: 1978 Comp., § 32A-5-25, enacted by Laws 1993, ch. 77, § 152; 1995, ch. 206, § 37.
The 1995 amendment, effective July 1, 1995, substituted "adoptee's" for "child's" and "adoptee" for "child" throughout the section.
Structure 2021 New Mexico Statutes
Section 32A-5-1 - Short title.
Section 32A-5-3 - Definitions.
Section 32A-5-4 - Application of the federal Indian Child Welfare Act of 1978.
Section 32A-5-5 - Indian child placement preferences.
Section 32A-5-6 - Authority of the department.
Section 32A-5-7 - Clerk of the court; duties.
Section 32A-5-8 - Confidentiality of records.
Section 32A-5-11 - Who may be adopted; who may adopt.
Section 32A-5-12 - Placement for adoption; restrictions; full disclosure.
Section 32A-5-13 - Independent adoptions; request for placement; placement order; certification.
Section 32A-5-14 - Pre-placement study.
Section 32A-5-14.1 - Criminal history records check; background checks.
Section 32A-5-15 - Termination of parental rights.
Section 32A-5-16 - Termination procedures.
Section 32A-5-17 - Persons whose consents or relinquishments are required.
Section 32A-5-18 - Implied consent or relinquishment.
Section 32A-5-19 - Persons whose consents or relinquishments are not required.
Section 32A-5-20 - Putative father registry; notice; penalty.
Section 32A-5-21 - Form of consent or relinquishment.
Section 32A-5-22 - Persons required to receive counseling; content and form of counseling.
Section 32A-5-23 - Persons who may take consents or relinquishments; accounting of disbursements.
Section 32A-5-24 - Relinquishments to the department.
Section 32A-5-25 - Petition; time of filing.
Section 32A-5-26 - Petition; content.
Section 32A-5-27 - Notice of petition; form of service; waiver.
Section 32A-5-28 - Response to petition.
Section 32A-5-29 - Custody pending decree.
Section 32A-5-30 - Removal of adoptee from the county.
Section 32A-5-31 - Post-placement report.
Section 32A-5-32 - Stepparent adoptions.
Section 32A-5-33 - Appointment of guardian ad litem or attorney for the adoptee or other party.
Section 32A-5-34 - Fees and charges; damages.
Section 32A-5-35 - Open adoptions.
Section 32A-5-36 - Adjudication; disposition; decree of adoption.
Section 32A-5-37 - Status of adoptee and petitioner upon entry of decree of adoption.
Section 32A-5-38 - Birth certificates.
Section 32A-5-39 - Recognition of foreign decrees.
Section 32A-5-39.1 - Application of the federal Intercountry Adoption Act.
Section 32A-5-40 - Post-decree of adoption access to records.
Section 32A-5-41 - Appointment of confidential intermediary.
Section 32A-5-42.1 - Unauthorized adoption facilitation; penalties.
Section 32A-5-42.2 - Advertising adoption services; requirements; penalties.
Section 32A-5-43 - Purpose of subsidized adoptions.