43-104.18. Child born out of wedlock; failure to establish compliance with notice requirements; court powers; guardian ad litem authorized.

If a petition to finalize an adoption is filed and fails to establish substantial compliance with sections 43-104.08 to 43-104.16, the court shall receive evidence by affidavit of the facts and circumstances of the biological mother's relationship with the biological father or possible biological fathers at the time of conception of the child and at the time of the biological mother's relinquishment of the child, including any evidence that providing notice to a biological father would be likely to threaten the safety of the biological mother or the child or that the conception was the result of sexual assault or incest. If, under the facts and circumstances presented, the court finds that the agency or attorney representing the biological mother did not exercise due diligence in complying with sections 43-104.08 to 43-104.16, or if the court finds that there is no credible evidence that providing notice to a biological father would be likely to threaten the safety of the biological mother or the child or that the conception was the result of sexual assault or incest, the court shall order the attorney or agency to exercise due diligence in complying with sections 43-104.08 to 43-104.16. If the attorney or agency fails to exercise due diligence in complying with such sections or at any time upon the petition or application of any interested party the court may appoint a guardian ad litem to represent the interests of the biological father. The guardian ad litem shall be chosen from a qualified pool of local attorneys. The guardian ad litem shall receive reasonable compensation for the representation, the amount to be determined at the discretion of the court.

Source

Annotations

The county is not obligated to pay the fee of a guardian ad litem appointed for a biological parent in a private adoption proceeding to which the county is not a party. In re Adoption of Kailynn D., 273 Neb. 849, 733 N.W.2d 856 (2007).

The fact that the Legislature expressly obligated counties to pay guardian ad litem fees in some statutes, but not in this section, reflects a legislative intent that the county cannot be ordered to pay the fees of a guardian ad litem appointed for a biological father in a private adoption case. In re Adoption of Kailynn D., 273 Neb. 849, 733 N.W.2d 856 (2007).