Hall, 082919 ALAGO, AGO 2019-52

• Case Date: August 29, 2019
• Court: Alabama

Honorable Laurie Schoultz Hall AGO 2019-52 No. 2019-052 Alabama Attorney General Opinion State of Alabama Office of the Attorney General August 29, 2019          Honorable Laurie Schoultz Hall          Marengo County Probate Judge          Post Office Box 480668          Linden, Alabama 36748          Probate Judges - Adoption - Minors - Petitions - Marengo County          A married adult may file a petition to adopt a minor without his or her spouse joining in the action.          Dear Judge Hall:          This opinion of the Attorney General is issued in response to your request.          QUESTION          Can a married person file a petition to adopt a minor who is not the stepchild of the petitioner without their spouse joining as a co-petitioner?          FACTS AND ANALYSIS          The Alabama Adoption Code is codified at section 26-10A-1, et seq. of the Code of Alabama. Ala. Code §§ 26-10A-1 to 26-10A-38 (2016 & Supp. 2018). The Adoption Code states that "[a]ny adult person or husband and wife jointly who are adults may petition the court to adopt a minor." Ala. Code §§ 26-10A-5(a) (2016). A minor is defined as "[a] person under the age of 19 or a person who is not an adult under the law in the jurisdiction where he or she resides. The term includes a minor parent only." Ala. Code § 26-10A-2(7) (2016).          Read in isolation, one could interpret section 26-10A-5(a) to authorize only two groups to petition to adopt a minor: either single adults or married adults petitioning for adoption jointly. In construing statutes, however, courts do not interpret provisions in isolation, but consider them in context of the entire statutory scheme. Siegelman v. Ala. Ass'n of School Bds., 819 So.2d 568, 582 (Ala. 2001). Section 26-10A-17(a)(3) requires a married adult that is the sole petitioner for the adoption of a minor to file a notice of the pendency of the adoption proceeding with "[t]he spouse of any petitioner who has not joined in the petition." Ala. Code § 26-10A-17(a)(3) (2016). It is a general principal of statutory...