Family Law,Children

Adoption

How does one adopt a child?
Adoption laws vary from state to state. For a minor child who is not related to the adoptive parent or parents, there are generally two types of adoptions: agency adoptions and private or independent adoptions.

What is an agency adoption?
As the name implies, the parents work though a state-licensed agency. The agency often supervises the care of biological mothers who are willing to have their children adopted by others, and it assists in the placement of children after birth. Agencies screen adoptive parents--often extensively--before the adoption proceeds. Some agencies have long waiting lists of parents. Some agencies specialize in placing children born in foreign countries.

What is a private adoption?
Private adoptions bypass the use of agencies and may bypass the long waiting lists as well. The process may begin when people who seek to adopt a child contact a lawyer who specializes in adoptions. The lawyer may work with physicians who are aware of women willing to give up children for adoption. Sometimes would-be parents will place ads in newspapers seeking women who are willing to place their babies for adoption.
In most states, adoptive parents are allowed to pay a biological mother's medical expenses and certain other costs during the pregnancy. But adoptive parents are not allowed to pay the biological mother specifically to give up the child. The law treats this as a black-market adoption, the buying and selling of children, and it is a crime in every state.

Is court approval necessary for an adoption?
Yes. Court approval is needed for both agency and private adoptions. Many states also require that the adoptive parents be studied and approved by a social service agency.

Can a biological mother revoke her consent to adoption?
Yes, but there are limits on her right to revoke consent. In most states, a biological mother who initially consents to a child's adoption before birth may revoke that consent after birth. In other words, the mother's consent is usually not final or binding until a certain period of time after birth. In most states, that time period is relatively short, such as two to eight days. If a biological mother consented to adoption during the proper period of time after birth, it is much harder for her to revoke her consent. Generally, following an after-birth consent, a biological mother may revoke her consent only if she can show that there was fraud or duress. Fraud could be found if the adoption agency or lawyer lied to the biological mother about the consequences of what she was doing. Duress might exist if a person at the adoption agency threatened the biological mother with humiliation if she did not sign. A biological mother's change of heart is not normally enough by itself to revoke an after-birth adoption consent. Although a mother may feel emotionally drained and under stress after the birth of a child that she plans to give up for adoption, that type of stress is not enough to revoke an adoption unless the relevant person or agency used harsh tactics to obtain the mother's consent.

Is the biological father's consent necessary?
Generally, yes--at least if the biological father is known and the father does not abandon his parental rights. The biological father should be notified of the birth and pending adoption so that he may consent or object. If the father is not known, the adoption may proceed without his consent (although adoptive parents can feel safer about the validity of their adoption if the biological father has been notified and agreed to it). If a biological father is not notified, he may later contest the adoption if he acts within a certain period of time after the child's birth or adoption (such as one to six months).

If biological parents give up a child to adoption, what rights and obligations do they retain?
In general, they lose all rights and have no obligations. They have no right of contact with the child, cannot obtain information about the child, and so on. And they have no obligation to support the child.
However, there is a growing movement toward "open adoptions," in which parents may, by agreement, retain some rights to contact with the child and information about the child. See the "Open Adoption" sidebar below.

What is a stepparent adoption?
A stepparent adoption is one in which a child's biological parent marries someone who wishes to adopt the biological parent's child and is able to do so because the other biological parent consents or because consent is unnecessary. If a biological parent does not consent to the adoption of a child, the child cannot be adopted by another person unless a court first finds that the biological parent is unfit. If a parent is found unfit, that person's parental rights are terminated, and the child can be adopted.

What is the definition of an unfit parent?
Parental unfitness is determined by state law. Generally, an unfit parent is one who has failed to have regular contact with a child or to contribute to his or her support. A parent is also unfit if he or she has been abusive or has otherwise failed to provide adequate care for the child.

What happens if a stepparent adopts his spouse's child and the parents later divorce?
A divorce does not affect the legality of the adoption. The stepparent continues to have all the rights and responsibilities of a biological parent, including a right to seek custody or visitation and a duty to support the child.

Can a single person adopt a child?
Yes. Many states allow single persons to adopt, although some agencies strongly prefer to place a child with a married couple. Other agencies--particularly those dealing with children who might be hard to place--are willing to place a child with a single person. Single-parent adoptions are usually possible in private adoptions.

Can lesbian or gay couples adopt a child?
Yes, in some states, including New York and California, gay and lesbian couples are able to adopt a child.

Who has access to adoption records?
In most states, court adoption records are sealed and can only be opened by court order (although a few states--Oregon, Kansas, Tennessee, and Wyoming--allow all adopted children access to their adoption records). Procedures and standards for opening records vary by state. Increasingly, states require that certain nonidentifying information, such as the medical history of the biological family, be made available to the adoptive parents at the time of adoption. Some states also have registries in which parties to the adoption can agree to a later exchange of information, including names and addresses.

What is the legal status of an adopted child?
An adopted child has exactly the same rights as a child reared by his or her biological parents. Similarly, adoptive parents have the same obligations to the child as they would to one born to them.