Section 26-10E-3 - Probate court shall have original jurisdiction(a) The probate court shall have original jurisdiction over cases brought pursuant to this chapter. No other court of this state shall have jurisdiction over a case brought under this chapter unless the case, or part of the case, has been transferred from the probate court to the other court in accordance with this section.(b) If any parent whose consent is required fails to consent or is unable to consent to the adoption of a minor, upon a motion of a party, the case shall be transferred from the probate court to the appropriate juvenile court for the limited purpose of considering the termination of the parental rights of the non-consenting parent. Upon entry of a final judgment adjudicating the claim for termination of parental rights, the juvenile court shall return the case to the probate court for further dispositional proceedings. The dispositional proceedings shall be stayed pending any appeal of the final judgment of the juvenile court.(c) If, at any time during the pendency of a case under this chapter concerning the adoption of a minor, an action is pending in a circuit court or a juvenile court of this state concerning the custody or parentage of the minor, any party to the case, or the probate court on its own motion, may move to stay the case or to transfer the case to the circuit court or the juvenile court in which the other action is pending. Upon transfer, the transferee court shall have jurisdiction to decide all matters relating to the adoption and to enter a final judgment resolving the adoption case. After entry of the final judgment by the transferee court, the probate court shall have limited jurisdiction over the case to assure compliance with Sections 26-10E-30 and 26-10E-31.(d) On motion of either party or of the probate court, a contest of an adoption under Section 26-10E-23 that is pending in a probate court shall be transferred to the juvenile court for the limited purpose of adjudicating the contest. After entry of a final judgment adjudicating the contest, the juvenile court shall return the case to the probate court for further dispositional proceedings, which dispositional proceedings shall be stayed pending any appeal of the final judgment.(e) The provisions of this chapter shall remain applicable to any case transferred to a juvenile court or a circuit court pursuant to this section.(f) Once an adoption proceeding in the juvenile court has been completed, a copy of all the juvenile court records, including filings and documents originally sent by the probate court upon transfer to the juvenile court shall be forwarded to the original probate court. All other filings and documents that are retained by the juvenile court pertaining to the adoption proceeding shall be sealed, kept as a permanent record of the court, and withheld from inspection except as otherwise ordered by the court for good cause shown.(g) Notwithstanding any law regarding the confidentiality of records and court proceedings involving a minor or adoptee, a court may communicate with another court of this state, another state, or another country in the same manner as provided in Section 30-3B-110, and a court may share records with another court of this state, another state, or another country for the limited purposes of determining any jurisdictional issues regarding a case involving the adoption of an adoptee pursuant to this chapter.Ala. Code § 26-10E-3 (1975)
Added by Act 2023-92,§ 1, eff. 1/1/2024.