New, Shortened Residency Requirements for Adoption
- tim61214
- Aug 1, 2024
- 1 min read
The Utah legislature and governor recently passed a law providing new, shortened residency requirements for adoption. The new law is at Utah Code 78B-6-136.5. Now, for stepparent / stepchild adoptions, the family need reside together for only 6 months. For all other adoptions--i.e., foster child and private adoptions--the child need live in the adoptive home for only 3 months. This cuts in half the prior, pre-2024 residency requirements. However, judges still have an option to require a longer residency requirement "based on a finding of good cause."
While we want to ensure the adoptive child and adopting parents are bonded, I think this shortened residency requirement is a good change because much bonding can happen outside of residing together.
If you have questions about adopting a child (or an adult), please reach out to us at the Utah Adoption Law Center.

![utah_adoption_law_center_logo(1)[24].png](https://static.wixstatic.com/media/a61cbf_53bc7e3c13f049618e5c802c8295b859~mv2.png/v1/fill/w_182,h_180,al_c,q_85,usm_0.66_1.00_0.01,enc_avif,quality_auto/utah_adoption_law_center_logo(1)%5B24%5D.png)



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