Which situation allows a 16-year-old or older to sign the placement agreement without parental consent?

Which situation allows a 16-year-old or older to sign the placement agreement without parental consent?

• A. Resides separate and manages own financial affairs
• B. Unmarried and pregnant
• C. Unmarried and a parent
• D. All of the above

Answer: (D)

The key idea is that a minor must have the legal capacity to consent in order to sign a placement agreement without parental consent. Each situation listed gives that capacity.

If a 16-year-old resides separately and manages her own financial affairs, she is effectively emancipated for purposes of making contracts and decisions about her welfare, including placing a child for adoption. That independence means she can consent without a parent’s involvement.

If a minor is unmarried and pregnant, she is the parent of the child she is carrying or will have, so she has the authority to make decisions about that child, including placement, without needing her parents’ consent.

If a minor is unmarried and already a parent, she has the parental rights and responsibilities for her child, giving her the authority to decide on placement without parental consent.

Because each scenario grants the legal capacity to consent, all of the above situations allow the placement agreement to be signed without parental consent.