The House Family, Children and Human Affairs Committee heard HB 1562, which would permit filing of adoption petitions in any county. Rep. Carbaugh, author, introduced the bill and explained this legislation would permit an adoption petition to be filed in any probate court in Indiana, which would permit petitioners to go to the most efficient court. He explained his adoption case took forever to get settled after the parents had already consented.
Rep. Young expressed concern that a petitioner might want to prevent a parent or parent(s) from participating in the adoption by filing the adoption in a distant county from the parent. An attorney testified in her county the court was inefficient and it might take six to eight months to get a final hearing for an uncontested adoption. However, it takes much less time to finalize an adoption in a neighboring county. Rep. Young questioned if nearby counties were used too often, whether they would stop taking adoption cases. Rep. Carbaugh agreed to work on the bill later if questions arose. The bill passed 11-0.
Read the bill at: http://iga.in.gov/legislative/2021/bills/house/1562