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RCW 26.33.170

Consent to adoption—When not required.

Applied in 3 court decisions — leading case 73 Wash. App. 708 - Lucas v. Department of Social & Health Services (1994)

Most recently applied in In re the Adoption of S.H. (June 2012)

2017 c 234 s 3; 1999 c 173 s 1; 1988 c 203 s 1; 1984 c 155 s 17.

How often courts cite this section

199420002010201210
citing decisions per year

Court decisions citing this, by year. The dip in the last several years is a data-coverage gap, not a real trend — our corpus holds fewer opinions from the most recent years, so recent citations are undercounted.

(1) An agency's, the department's, or a legal guardian's consent to adoption may be dispensed with if the court determines by clear, cogent and convincing evidence that the proposed adoption is in the best interests of the adoptee.

(2) An *alleged father's, birth parent's, or parent's consent to adoption shall be dispensed with if the court finds that the proposed adoption is in the best interests of the adoptee and:

(a) The *alleged father, birth parent, or parent has been found guilty of rape under chapter 9A.44 RCW or incest under RCW 9A.64.020, where the adoptee was the victim of the rape or incest; or

(b) The *alleged father, birth parent, or parent has been found guilty of rape under chapter 9A.44 RCW or incest under RCW 9A.64.020, or has been found by clear and convincing evidence to have committed a sexual assault, where the other parent of the adoptee was the victim of the rape, incest, or sexual assault and the adoptee was conceived as a result of the rape, incest, or sexual assault, unless the parent who is the victim indicates by affidavit or sworn testimony that consent to adoption by the person who committed the rape, incest, or sexual assault should occur.

(3) Nothing in this section shall be construed to eliminate the notice provisions of this chapter.

Official source: Washington State Legislature. Reproduced from public-domain Washington statutes; confirm against the official source for the current text. Not legal advice.