§ 48-2-301. Petition for adoption; who may file. - North Carolina Statutes

Part 3. Petition for Adoption.

§ 48‑2‑301. Petition for adoption; who may file.

(a)        A prospectiveadoptive parent may file a petition for adoption pursuant to Article 3 of thisChapter only if a minor has been placed with the prospective adoptive parent pursuantto Part 2 of Article 3 of this Chapter unless the requirement of placement iswaived by the court for cause.

(b)        Except asauthorized by Articles 4 and 6 of this Chapter, the spouse of a petitioner mustjoin in the petition, unless the spouse has been declared incompetent or unlessthis requirement is otherwise waived by the court for cause.

(c)        If the individualwho files the petition is unmarried, no other individual may join in thepetition, except that a man and a woman who jointly adopted a minor child in aforeign country while married to one another must readopt jointly as providedin G.S. 48‑2‑205.  (1949, c. 300; 1963, c. 699; 1967, c. 619, ss. 1‑3;c. 693; c. 880, s. 3; 1969, c. 21, ss. 3‑6; 1971, c. 395; c. 1231, s. 1;1973, c. 849, s. 3; c. 1354, ss. 1‑4; 1975, c. 91; 1979, c. 107, s. 6;1981, c. 657; 1983, c. 454, s. 6; 1989, c. 208; c. 727, s. 219(4); 1993, c.553, s. 14; 1995, c. 88, s. 3; c. 457, s. 2; 2009‑185, s. 2.1.)