How to adopt a newborn baby from a maternity hospital? 3 steps to motherhood

Family law > Adoption > How to adopt a child from a maternity hospital?

The question of how to adopt a child from a maternity hospital is most relevant for those families whose lives have developed in such a way that they cannot have their own children. Therefore, most of all they want to take babies who have just been born.

Parents wait for months, or even years, to adopt a newborn, as the waiting list is huge and does not come quickly.

In order to adopt a child, you need to collect certain documents and contact the guardianship authorities. If a couple is considered suitable to be the adoptive parents of a baby, they will receive consent. The family will have a small addition that they have been waiting for so long.

Unfortunately, quite often young mothers abandon their newborn babies in maternity hospitals.

The reasons for such actions may be different:

1. Pregnancy at an early age. When the parents of a minor mother fear for her reputation and insist that she abandon the child.
2. Studying at a university, when the mother prefers her own development, career and does not think at all about the fate of the abandoned baby.
3. Birth trauma or other pathology, as a result of which the child is born with abnormalities.
4. Low income and lack of own housing.
5. Alcoholism, drug addiction.

In the future, new families or, in the worst case, orphanages await such refuseniks.

Candidates for adoptive parents must be firmly convinced that they need a child from the maternity hospital whom they can make happy.

In this case, you need to go to the guardianship authorities to obtain permission to adopt a newborn baby.

Motives for adopting a baby

Babies from maternity hospitals are adopted for various reasons. This is most often done in such situations:

• when a woman wants to get a conscientious objector if she has a serious illness that makes having children impossible;
• if you want to independently raise a worthy person who will take care of his parents in their old age;
• at the request of wealthy people who want to raise their successor, the heir to a cottage or other wealth, etc.

More often, a newborn refuser who does not yet have a good memory or a variety of skills or habits is taken for adoption from a maternity hospital. After all, it is easiest to take a minor citizen under guardianship at a young age. As a result, the baby develops a specific character that the adoptive parents themselves possess.

Governmental support

The state supports guardians by paying one-time cash benefits.

If the newborn is the second in the family, maternity capital is assigned to him as if it were his own. At the same time, it can be spent under the same conditions: for the education of children, improvement of living conditions and other cases provided for by law.

In order not to violate the rights of the adoptee, the state makes it possible to maintain the secrecy of adoption. Therefore, when issuing a certificate, adoptive parents can change the newborn’s first name, last name, patronymic and date of birth within three months.

When a baby is handed over to guardians, he is fully equal in rights to a blood relative.

To adopt a newborn child means to take responsibility for his maintenance, upbringing, the opportunity to receive a full education, and also to perform certain legal actions on his behalf, that is, to be a representative in matters of a legislative nature. Therefore, the issue of adopting a newborn should be approached carefully.

Legal regulation

Many childless citizens of the Russian Federation want to become adoptive parents.
However, not everyone can do this. They become an adoptive parent if they meet specific requirements that are enshrined in current Russian legislation. The nuances of adopting a child from a maternity hospital are spelled out in detail in the following regulations:

• Art. 122-144 of the Family Code of the Russian Federation (RF IC);
• Decree of the Government of the Russian Federation No. 275 of March 29, 2000;
• Decree of the Government of the Russian Federation No. 117 of February 14, 2013

These documents also tell you where to go to adopt a newborn.

Family Code of the Russian Federation dated December 29, 1995 No. 223-FZ

Decree of the Government of the Russian Federation of March 29, 2000 No. 275 “On approval of the rules for transferring children for adoption and monitoring the conditions of their life and upbringing in adoptive families on the territory of the Russian Federation and the Rules for registering children who are citizens of the Russian Federation with the consulates of the Russian Federation Federation and adopted by foreign citizens or stateless persons"

Decree of the Government of the Russian Federation of February 14, 2013 No. 117 “On approval of the list of diseases, in the presence of which a person cannot adopt a child, take him under guardianship (trusteeship), take him into a foster or foster family”

Order and procedure

In 2021 in Russia, the queue of citizens wishing to adopt a newborn child in some areas exceeds 200 people. Although the specific wishes of candidates may vary, in general, everyone wants a newborn without significant developmental abnormalities. Therefore, you should not count on a wide selection of questionnaires in the guardianship department. The main difficulty is finding a suitable candidate.

How to find a child for adoption in 2021 in the Russian Federation:

• contact the guardianship department at the place of registration;
• personally visit the maximum number of guardianship departments in other districts to register.

Important! The guardianship department does not accept registration of citizens who sent documents by mail, e-mail or fax. The personal presence of at least one of the adoptive parents is required.

After registration, a citizen must periodically remind himself by calling. Specialists will offer up-to-date questionnaires.

Conditions for adopting an abandoned child

According to Art. 125 of the RF IC, an abandoned child is adopted if the following requirements are met:

1. After the applicant reaches the age of majority - 18 years;
2. If there is a spacious living space with room for 2 people - an adopted child;
3. If you have an official job where you receive a stable monthly income;
4. In the absence of a criminal record;
5. If you have good health and the absence of specific ailments, the list of which is approved by Decree of the Government of the Russian Federation No. 117 of February 14, 2013;
6. If in the past there were no various precedents for alienation of parental rights or early termination of a guardianship agreement;
7. In the absence of American citizenship.

Attention! Only a newborn abandoner who is 16 years or more younger than the adoptive parent is successfully adopted. Otherwise, the applicant is denied adoption of the baby.

Article 125 of the Family Code of the Russian Federation “Procedure for the adoption of a child”

Read also: Debts during divorce

What happens to the baby first?

So, the mother gave birth to a child and immediately wrote a “refusal” on him in the maternity hospital. After this, the mother is deprived of parental rights, and the child, if he does not have a father who would like to take on all parental responsibilities, officially receives the status of an orphan. He remains in the hospital for some time under the supervision of doctors, after which, if he has no health problems, he is sent to an orphanage, where he remains until adoption.

The relatives of the abandoned baby have the priority right of custody. They, unlike potential adoptive parents, can take him directly from the parental home, preventing him from being sent to an orphanage. Adoptive parents who are not relatives of the abandoned person can take him home only after the relevant court decision has entered into force.

Who is eligible to adopt?

The following citizens of the Russian Federation have the legal right to officially adopt an abandoned child:

• competent adult applicants;
• citizens of the Russian Federation who have any family relationship with the child. If the mother or father refuses, grandparents and other relatives become guardians;
• persons who have successfully passed the medical examination are in good health;
• citizens of the Russian Federation who are provided with housing and have a high official salary.

Important! Adoptive parents who are not officially in a civil marriage also have the legal right to adoption. In this situation, the abandoned child is given to one of the partners.

How to adopt a child from a maternity hospital

In Russia, not only citizens of the country, but also foreigners have the right to adoption.

From a legal point of view, the adoption process is quite lengthy and complex. Not every married couple can obtain permission from the relevant authorities.

You should start with an application to the guardianship authorities. In it you need to indicate your own data, as well as describe what kind of child you would like to take into your family.

From the first second of the adoption of a baby, the same legal relations are established between him and his parents as in families with natural children.

In most cases, there is always a queue for refuseniks. Therefore, having decided to take such a responsible step, you should prepare yourself mentally and documented.

To do this, you need to know how to adopt a child from a maternity hospital. The procedure for adoptive parents is as follows:

1. Contact the guardianship and trusteeship authorities to put a refusenik on the waiting list from the maternity hospital.
2. To receive a referral for a medical examination - a special form. It is issued by the guardianship authorities.
3. Prepare the necessary package of documents according to the list issued by the guardianship authorities.
4. When all the documents are ready and the turn comes, you need to get approval for adoption.

A special commission is sent to potential parents to check living conditions . Its participants must ensure that there is a decent level of housing and conditions for raising a child.

Within two weeks after reviewing the documents, a final response will be received. Immediately after the signal about the presence of a refusenik in the maternity hospital, you can proceed to the process of registering the procedure with the court authorities.

To do this, you need to submit an application to the court at the location of the maternity hospital. The same certificates will do. But if more than three months have passed, they will have to be collected again.

Adoptive parents are exempt from paying the state fee, so they do not have to present a receipt.

An official document from the guardianship and trusteeship authorities will be required, indicating their consent and approval.

In accordance with the law, the duration of the trial is approximately 2 months . But when it comes to infants, the court makes a decision quite quickly.

To speed up this process as much as possible, you need to ask the court to apply the decision for immediate execution. Otherwise, you will have to wait 10 days for the court decision to take effect.

If the court decision is positive, the child can be taken away immediately . At the same time, the maternity hospital must issue a postpartum sick leave from the date the decision enters into legal force when the baby reaches 70 days of age.

Then you need to contact the registry office to obtain documents for the baby.

The process of adoption of children who are citizens of the Russian Federation is described above. Children who have citizenship of another state are also subject to adoption.

But this will require the consent of their legal representative and the government agency of that state endowed with the necessary competencies.

Benefits for adopted children

When adopting a newborn abandoned child, adoptive parents are paid various child benefits and benefits. Adoptive parents are provided with the following benefits:

1. Maternity benefits are paid. The decree is issued for 70 days (for 1 refusenik) and for 110 days (for several children). In this case, the baby must be less than 3 months old;
2. Sent on leave for 3 years. During the first 1.5 years, child benefits are paid in the amount of 40% of the monthly salary;
3. Issue a certificate for maternity capital;
4. A one-time child benefit is awarded upon adoption;
5. Provide free meals in kindergarten and school;
6. Provide free necessary medications for children under 3 years of age;
7. Compensate for part of the cost of monthly housing and utility bills;
8. They refund 50% of the costs of sending a child to kindergarten.

Attention! According to Art. 12.2 Federal Law No. dated May 19, 1995, the adoptive parent is paid a one-time benefit equal to 8,000 rubles. When adopting an abandoned child aged 7 years or older or with a disability group, as well as children who are each other’s brothers and (or) sisters, 100,000 rubles are transferred to the adoptive parents. for every newborn.

Federal Law of May 19, 1995 No. 81-FZ “On state benefits for citizens with children”

Maternal capital

Adoptive parents are also provided with maternity capital. This money is spent in this way:

• improve their living conditions;
• teach children at university;
• increase the size of the adoptive mother's pension.

A certificate for maternity capital is issued upon adoption of 2 or subsequent children. In 2021, maternity capital is equal to 453,026 rubles.

Expenses

The adoption procedure is absolutely free. Citizens are exempt from paying state fees.

All documentation is provided free of charge.

The main expenses of adoptive parents are:

• expenses during the selection of a baby;
• payment for blood tests for HIV, syphilis, hepatitis.

If specialists ask you to pay money for reviewing a child’s profile, you must report this to the prosecutor’s office.

The Mystery of Adoption

According to Art. 155 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, after accepting an abandoned child into their family, adoptive parents must maintain the secrecy of adoption. Disclosure of such information is punishable as follows:

• fined 80,000 rubles. or the amount of salary for 6 months. as a maximum;
• are required to perform compulsory labor for 360 hours or correctional labor for 1 year;
• sent to prison for 4 months. and are deprived of the right to hold specific positions for a period of up to 3 years or without such deprivation.

The circle of people who are aware of the adoption of a child includes the following citizens of the Russian Federation - employees of the Department of Social Protection of the Population, maternity hospitals, orphanages and court employees. When preventing the disclosure of secret information about a specific adoption, not only the full name of the adopted child is changed, but also his place and birthday.

Moreover, the difference between the fictitious and real dates of birth is 3 months maximum.

Article 155 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation “Disclosure of the secret of adoption”

What documents are needed?

The first step in the adoption process is collecting documents. The list of documentation is established by Government Decree No. 275 of 2000.

Documents for the adoptive parent

If documents are submitted by a married couple, then this list is collected by each spouse.

The law establishes requirements for candidates based on income level. A married couple must have an income that exceeds the regional subsistence level for each family member + potential adopted child.

In addition, the candidate must have living space. Moreover, it does not matter whether it is owned or rented. There are no legal requirements for space. Therefore, if the guardianship department refuses to issue an opinion due to insufficient housing space, the spouses can challenge the decision in court.

An exception is the situation if citizens are ready to accept a disabled child or a minor with HIV infection into their family. In this case, the guardianship department has the right to demand the provision of a separate room.

Reasons for refusal

A refusal to adopt a newborn abandoner is received in the following situations:

• when the applicant is pregnant at an early age;
• when studying a potential adoptive parent at a university;
• due to the presence of congenital pathologies;
• when identifying a potential adoptive parent with various material or housing problems;
• if you have drug or alcohol addiction.

If the re-adoption is successful, abandoned children are given to a new adoptive family. Moreover, most babies are adopted in the first six months of their life.

As a result, before becoming a guardian of a newborn, you need to know where to start adopting a child who has abandoned the child from the maternity hospital and how this legal procedure proceeds. After studying the above information, this matter will not take much time.

Baby Databases

Each medical institution creates questionnaires, which in the future are sent to the guardianship authorities. After this, the cases are transferred to the regional and federal banks. Everyone who creates such questionnaires tries to present all the information about the newborn as loyally and simply as possible. You need to understand that you shouldn’t trust all the data; it’s better for new parents to examine the child themselves and show it to the pediatrician.

You can get acquainted with the database of refuseniks at any of the above bodies.