Contents
What Is Domestic Adoption?
Ideal Adoptive-Parent Qualities
Legalities of Adoption
Domestic Infant Adoption
Foster-to-Adopt Adoption
Open Adoption
Other Issues in Adoption
How to Finance an Adoption
After Your Child Comes Home
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Legalities of Adoption
The legalities of adoption are less complicated than they may first appear. The specifics of the laws vary from state to state, but the terminology is generally the same.
Termination of Parental Rights
Termination of parental rights is the process by which the court declares that the biological parents no longer have a legal right to their biological child. Courts can terminate parental rights against the will of parents whom they deem neglectful or abusive. In a domestic infant adoption, several other parts of the process must happen before termination can occur: surrender of parental rights, revocation period, and paternal consent.
Surrender of Parental Rights
Surrender of parental rights means that the child’s birth parents initiated the termination of parental rights voluntarily. This is also called a relinquishment or consent to adopt. In most states, there’s a waiting period between the birth of a child and the time at which parents can surrender their rights legally. The period varies by state—it can be anywhere from 48 hours to several months, but it’s most often 72 hours after the child’s birth.
Revocation Period
After a voluntary surrender, there’s a period of time, called the revocation period, in which birth parents can revoke their consent to adopt. Some states allow birth parents to revoke consent only if they can prove that they signed a surrender under duress or were coerced into signing it. Other states simply let birth parents change their minds. It’s important for potential adoptive parents to understand that the child is not fully free for adoption until the revocation period has passed.
Paternal Consent
The legal rights of birth fathers vary widely by state and can be very complicated. It’s important that hopeful adoptive parents work with knowledgeable, ethical adoption professionals to understand the laws in their state and the state through which they might be adopting. If the biological father is married to the biological mother, he has different rights than he would if they were unmarried. If the couple is unmarried, the biological father is referred to as the putative father, which means he’s the alleged father. If the father is unknown, the state may or may not ask the woman to contact the men who may be the father.
In every state, putative fathers are entitled to notice that a child they’ve fathered is going to be placed for adoption. Different states handle such notification in different ways.
- In foster-to-adopt situations: Usually, social services agencies supervising children who have been removed from a parent’s care will automatically seek in-family placement for that child. In this case, if the child is removed from his or her mother’s care, the father may be notified and may be the first person considered for placement. Likewise, grandparents, aunts, or uncles may all be on the list for placement. By the time the child is legally free to be adopted, these avenues have usually been exhausted. However, the child may be placed in a potential adoptive parent’s home even while the agency is still considering the extended family’s right to raise the child.
- In domestic infant adoptions: Active notification of putative fathers is usually the responsibility of the woman seeking to place her child for adoption. If she has no way of contacting the father, she may be required to go a step further (by placing an ad in the local paper, for instance). Sometimes, hopeful adoptive parents, their legal counsel, or the adoption agency will assist with this.
- Putative father registries: More than half of all states have putative father registries, which let a man register his claim to paternity. If the father has stated a claim, his consent must be obtained before the child is legally free to be adopted. In some states, checking the putative father registry for a birth father’s claim is the only requirement before the child is free to be adopted.
Legalities Prior to Adoption
Adoption can take place only after parental rights have been terminated. When a child is
legally free for adoption, the hopeful adoptive parents go before a judge, who gives all parental rights and responsibilities to the adoptive parents. A rewritten birth certificate is made, stating that the adoptive parents are the biological parents of the child they’ve adopted. The child’s original birth certificate may be sealed temporarily or permanently
(depending on state law), though permanently sealed birth certificates can often be
unsealed by court order. In some states, there’s a period between placement and adoption during which the supervising agency makes sure the family is a good fit.
Legal Role of the Placement Agency
Depending on a variety of factors—including whether the adoption is being handled by a lawyer or an agency, the place where the child was born, and the place where the adoptive parents live—the placement agency may be considered the statutory parent from the time parental rights are terminated until adoptive parents are able to finalize the adoption. In this case, the placement agency remains responsible for the child but has the right to place that child with a family who will remain under the agency’s supervision until finalization.
The placement agency has the right to dictate care of that child during this period. In a domestic infant adoption, they may ask that potential adoptive parents meet certain criteria, such as attending well-child checkups or having one parent stay at home for a specified period after placement. In foster-to-adopt, they may ask that the adoptive parents continue the child’s treatment plan or maintain visitation with relatives. Hopeful adoptive parents may need agency approval to leave the state during this time.
Legalities After Adoption
Once the adoption is final, the supervising agency no longer has jurisdiction over the care of the child, and the adoptive parents become full-fledged parents, assuming all the rights and responsibilities of the child’s care.
Adoption Disruption
An adoption disruption, or disrupted adoption, occurs if, during the time between the child’s placement in the family (usually after the termination of parental rights) and the finalization, it becomes clear that the adoption is not going to work for that child or that family. This situation is different from a disrupted placement, in which the child returns to the birth family before the termination of parental rights. Though these terms are often used interchangeably, there is a difference:
- In a disrupted placement: The child was not free to be adopted legally.
- In a disrupted adoption: The child was free to be adopted but is removed from the hopeful adoptive family’s care by either the family’s own choice or the decision of the supervising agency (usually, the agency then places the child with another family).
Disruptions usually occur when the family isn’t ready to parent the child who is placed with them. Careful preparation and appropriate post-placement services can prevent disruptions.
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