Mississippi Code
Miss. Code Ann. § 93-17-13 (2026)
Final decree and effect thereof; completion of home study before final decree entered
✓ current as of July 2026
- (1) A final decree of adoption shall not be entered before the expiration of six (6) months from the entry of the interlocutory decree except (a) when a child is a stepchild of a petitioner or is related by blood to the petitioner within the third degree according to the rules of the civil law or in any case in which the chancellor in the exercise of his discretion shall determine from all the proceedings and evidence in said cause that the six-month waiting period is not necessary or required for the benefit of the court, the petitioners or the child to be adopted, and shall so adjudicate in the decree entered in said cause, in either of which cases the final decree may be entered immediately without any delay and without an interlocutory decree, (b) when the child has resided in the home of any petitioner prior to the granting of the interlocutory decree, in which case the court may, in its discretion, shorten the waiting period by the length of time the child has thus resided, or (c) when an adoption in a foreign country is registered under Article 9 of this chapter, the Mississippi Registration of Foreign Adoptions Act.
- (2) The final decree shall adjudicate, in addition to such other provisions as may be found by the court to be proper for the protection of the interests of the child; and its effect, unless otherwise specifically provided, shall be that (a) the child shall inherit from and through the adopting parents and shall likewise inherit from the other children of the adopting parents to the same extent and under the same conditions as provided for the inheritance between brothers and sisters of the full blood by the laws of descent and distribution of the State of Mississippi, and that the adopting parents and their other children shall inherit from the child, just as if such child had been born to the adopting parents in lawful wedlock; (b) the child and the adopting parents and adoptive kindred are vested with all of the rights, powers, duties and obligations, respectively, as if such child had been born to the adopting parents in lawful wedlock, including all rights existing by virtue of Section 11-7-13, Mississippi Code of 1972; provided, however, that inheritance by or from the adopted child shall be governed by paragraph (a) above; (c) that the name of the child shall be changed if desired; and (d) that the natural parents and natural kindred of the child shall not inherit by or through the child except as to a natural parent who is the spouse of the adopting parent, and all parental rights of the natural parent, or parents, shall be terminated, except as to a natural parent who is the spouse of the adopting parent. Nothing in this chapter shall restrict the right of any person to dispose of property under a last will and testament.
- (3) A final decree of adoption shall not be entered until a court-ordered home study is satisfactorily completed, if required in Section 93-17-11.
Codes, 1942, § 1269-06; Laws, 1955, Ex. ch. 34, § 6; Laws, 1958, chs. 267, 285, § 2; Laws, 1971, ch. 399, § 1; Laws, 1998, ch. 516, § 18; Laws, 2007, ch. 496, § 6, eff. 7/1/2007.
Amended by Laws, 2014, ch. 385, SB 2180, 2, eff. 7/1/2014.
Notes of Decisions
Cited in 22
cases (1 in the last 5 years), 1982–2024 · leading case: Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians v. Holyfield, 490 U.S. 30 (1989).
Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians v. Holyfield, 490 U.S. 30 (1989). “See Miss. Code Ann. § 93-17-13 (1972). The chancellor did so here, Record 14, with the result that the final decree of adoption was entered less than one month after the babies' birth.”
Est. of Jones v. Howell, 687 So. 2d 1171 (Miss. 1996). “§ 11-7-13 (Mississippi's wrongful death statute) in pari materia with Miss. Code Ann. § 93-17-13 (Mississippi's adoption decree statute), we must conclude that the legislature intended that Samuel Howell Clinton's rights to bring a wrongful death action for his natural father's…”
Humphrey v. Pannell, 710 So. 2d 392 (Miss. 1998). “Miss. Code Ann. § 93-17-13 (1994) specifically provides that all parental rights of the natural parents are cut off by an adoption, except in the case of a natural parent who is the spouse of an adopting parent.”
F.D.P. v. J.S.B., 822 So. 2d 949 (Miss. 2002). “Miss.Code Ann. § 93-17-13 (Supp.2001) provides that “in addition to such other provisions as may be found by the court to be proper for the protection of the interests of the child,” all parental rights of the natural parents are cut off by an adoption, except in the case of a…”
Blakeney v. McRee, 188 So. 3d 1154 (Miss. 2016). “Miss.Code Ann. § 93-17-13(2) (Rev.2013). Section 93-17-7 of the Mississippi Code sets forth the chancery court’s authority to determine the rights of parties in contested adoption cases.”
In re D.D.H., 268 So. 3d 449 (Miss. 2018). “Miss. Code Ann. § 93-17-13 (2) (emphasis added).”
Doe v. Smith, 200 So. 3d 1028 (Miss. 2016). “See Miss. Code Ann. § 93-17-13 (Supp.2015). .”
Olson v. Flinn, 484 So. 2d 1015 (Miss. 1986). “Miss. Code Ann. § 93-17-13 (d) (1972). *1018 In this Court's opinion, the Mississippi Legislature, by enacting Miss.”
Adoption of D.N.T. v. R.D.H., 843 So. 2d 690 (Miss. 2003). “See also Miss. Code Ann. § 93-17-13 . Parenthetically, it should also be mentioned that indeed the proceedings were protracted in that a final hearing was not held and a final judgment not entered until September 5, 2001.”
J.C. v. Nat. Parents, 417 So. 2d 529 (Miss. 1982). “Miss. Code Ann. § 93-17-13 (1972). The chancellor in the case sub judice compounded the problem by granting this appeal with supersedeas.”
Wise v. Gulf States Collection Servs., 633 So. 2d 1025 (Miss. 1994). “Contrary to the Wises’ contention that they had not contracted or otherwise agreed to assume responsibility for the infant’s pre-adoption care, the hospital asserted that the Wises were liable for the services provided to him pursuant to Miss. Code Ann. § 93-17-13 (1972). The…”
D.M. v. D.R., 62 So. 3d 920 (Miss. 2011). “Miss.Code Ann. § 93-17-13 (Rev.2004). Thus, the child’s status as adoptee is equivalent to the natural child of the adoptive parents, and the child’s legal relationship, whatever the individual circumstances, with the natural parent no longer exists.”
— Miss. Code Ann. § 93-17-13(2) — 1 case
Blakeney v. McRee, 188 So. 3d 1154 (Miss. 2016). “Miss.Code Ann. § 93-17-13(2) (Rev.2013). Section 93-17-7 of the Mississippi Code sets forth the chancery court’s authority to determine the rights of parties in contested adoption cases.”
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