Adoption
Adoption is the process by which a person assumes parental rights for a minor child. There are quite a few different ways to bring a child into your life, or confirm your legal relationship with one, through adoption.
Agency Adoptions
Agency adoptions involve the placement of a child with adoptive parents by a public agency, or by a private agency licensed or regulated by the state. Moschetti Family Law is not an adoption agency and acts only as a legal resource to assit with the process.
Independent Adoptions
In a private or independent adoption, a child is placed with adoptive parents without involving an agency. Some independent adoptions involve a direct arrangement between the birth parents and the adoptive parents, while others use an intermediary such as an attorney, doctor, or clergyperson. But for most independent adoptions, an attorney is essential whether or not an intermediary is used.
International Adoptions
In an international adoption, the new parents adopt a child who is a citizen of a foreign country. In addition to satisfying the adoption requirements of both the foreign country and the parents' home state in the U.S., the parents must obtain an immigrant visa for the child through U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS, formerly called the INS).
USCIS has its own rules for international adoptions. One requirement is that the adoptive parents must be either married or, if single, at least 25 years old. USCIS also requires adoptive parents to complete several forms and submit a favorable home study report. The child will be granted U.S. citizenship automatically upon entering the United States, but will not receive a certificate proving citizenship until several weeks later.
Many countries with children available for adoption will not permit adoption by openly gay or lesbian parents; some countries, like China, require the adopting parent to sign an affidavit that he or she is heterosexual. Despite this, many gay and lesbian adoptive parents have successfully completed international adoptions.
Stepparent Adoptions
In a stepparent adoption, a parent's new spouse adopts a child the parent had with a previous partner. Stepparent adoption procedures are less cumbersome than agency or independent adoption procedures. The process is quite simple, especially if the child's other birth parent consents to the adoption. If the other birth parent cannot be found or if they refuse to consent to the adoption, there is more paperwork to do and you may need to hire an attorney.
Domestic Partner Adoptions
In California, a new law allows a same-sex domestic partner to adopt the children of his or her partner under stepparent adoption procedures, so that the process is relatively quick and easy. The parties must be registered as domestic partners with the state in order to qualify for these procedures.
Relative (Kinship) Adoptions
In a relative adoption, also called a kinship adoption, a member of the child's family steps forward to adopt. Grandparents often adopt their grandchildren if the parents die while the children are minors, or if the parents are unable to take care of the children for other reasons (such as being in jail or on drugs). In most states, these adoptions are easier than non-relative adoptions. If the adopted child has siblings who are not adopted at the same time, kinship adoption procedures usually provide for contact between the siblings after the adoption.
Consent to Adoption
For any adoption to be legal, the birth parents must consent to the adoption (unless their parental rights have been legally terminated for some other reason, such as unfitness).
Most states won't let birth parents consent to an adoption until after the child is born, and some states require even more time -- typically three to four days after the birth -- before the parents can sign a consent form. This means that birth parents can legally change their minds about adoption at any point before the birth of the child, because they haven't yet given their consent to the adoption. Be sure to check your state's laws. States differ widely on when birth parents can consent and when the consent becomes final.
Even after the birth parents have given their consent and the child has been placed in the adoptive home, many states give birth parents a specified period of time to revoke their consent -- in other words, to change their minds about the adoption. In some states this period can be as long as three months -- a nerve-wracking time period for the adoptive parents who have begun to care for the child.
This is one of the reasons why birth parents in some states must undergo counseling before giving their consent -- their intention to go through with the adoption is explored at an early stage, in the hopes of reducing the likelihood of a change of heart later.
Investigation of Adoptive Parents
All states require adoptive parents to undergo an investigation to make sure that they are fit to raise a child. This investigation is called a home study. Typically, the study is conducted by a state agency or a licensed social worker who examines the adoptive parents' home life and prepares a report that the court will review before allowing the adoption to take place. Some states do not require a report to be submitted to a court -- instead, they allow the agency or social worker to decide whether the prospective parents are fit to adopt (although a court will still have to approve the adoption).
The social worker will commonly ask about a number of areas considered important to the adoptive parents' ability to raise a child:
• financial stability
• marital stability
• lifestyles
• other children
• career obligations
• physical and mental health, and
• criminal history.
In recent years, the home study has become more than just a method of investigating prospective parents: It serves to educate and inform them as well. The social worker helps to prepare the adoptive parents by discussing issues such as how and when to talk with the child about being adopted, and how to deal with the reaction that friends and family might have to the adoption.
If the social worker ends up writing a negative report that claims you are unsuited to adopt, you may contest the conclusion. Each state has different appeal procedures. Some states provide for a separate procedure, while other states make the appeal part of the adoption hearing.
Moschetti Family Law can help you through the difficult and often confusing issues in adoption. Call us at (415) 399-0970 or contact us online.
Agency Adoptions
Agency adoptions involve the placement of a child with adoptive parents by a public agency, or by a private agency licensed or regulated by the state. Moschetti Family Law is not an adoption agency and acts only as a legal resource to assit with the process.
Independent Adoptions
In a private or independent adoption, a child is placed with adoptive parents without involving an agency. Some independent adoptions involve a direct arrangement between the birth parents and the adoptive parents, while others use an intermediary such as an attorney, doctor, or clergyperson. But for most independent adoptions, an attorney is essential whether or not an intermediary is used.
International Adoptions
In an international adoption, the new parents adopt a child who is a citizen of a foreign country. In addition to satisfying the adoption requirements of both the foreign country and the parents' home state in the U.S., the parents must obtain an immigrant visa for the child through U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS, formerly called the INS).
USCIS has its own rules for international adoptions. One requirement is that the adoptive parents must be either married or, if single, at least 25 years old. USCIS also requires adoptive parents to complete several forms and submit a favorable home study report. The child will be granted U.S. citizenship automatically upon entering the United States, but will not receive a certificate proving citizenship until several weeks later.
Many countries with children available for adoption will not permit adoption by openly gay or lesbian parents; some countries, like China, require the adopting parent to sign an affidavit that he or she is heterosexual. Despite this, many gay and lesbian adoptive parents have successfully completed international adoptions.
Stepparent Adoptions
In a stepparent adoption, a parent's new spouse adopts a child the parent had with a previous partner. Stepparent adoption procedures are less cumbersome than agency or independent adoption procedures. The process is quite simple, especially if the child's other birth parent consents to the adoption. If the other birth parent cannot be found or if they refuse to consent to the adoption, there is more paperwork to do and you may need to hire an attorney.
Domestic Partner Adoptions
In California, a new law allows a same-sex domestic partner to adopt the children of his or her partner under stepparent adoption procedures, so that the process is relatively quick and easy. The parties must be registered as domestic partners with the state in order to qualify for these procedures.
Relative (Kinship) Adoptions
In a relative adoption, also called a kinship adoption, a member of the child's family steps forward to adopt. Grandparents often adopt their grandchildren if the parents die while the children are minors, or if the parents are unable to take care of the children for other reasons (such as being in jail or on drugs). In most states, these adoptions are easier than non-relative adoptions. If the adopted child has siblings who are not adopted at the same time, kinship adoption procedures usually provide for contact between the siblings after the adoption.
Consent to Adoption
For any adoption to be legal, the birth parents must consent to the adoption (unless their parental rights have been legally terminated for some other reason, such as unfitness).
Most states won't let birth parents consent to an adoption until after the child is born, and some states require even more time -- typically three to four days after the birth -- before the parents can sign a consent form. This means that birth parents can legally change their minds about adoption at any point before the birth of the child, because they haven't yet given their consent to the adoption. Be sure to check your state's laws. States differ widely on when birth parents can consent and when the consent becomes final.
Even after the birth parents have given their consent and the child has been placed in the adoptive home, many states give birth parents a specified period of time to revoke their consent -- in other words, to change their minds about the adoption. In some states this period can be as long as three months -- a nerve-wracking time period for the adoptive parents who have begun to care for the child.
This is one of the reasons why birth parents in some states must undergo counseling before giving their consent -- their intention to go through with the adoption is explored at an early stage, in the hopes of reducing the likelihood of a change of heart later.
Investigation of Adoptive Parents
All states require adoptive parents to undergo an investigation to make sure that they are fit to raise a child. This investigation is called a home study. Typically, the study is conducted by a state agency or a licensed social worker who examines the adoptive parents' home life and prepares a report that the court will review before allowing the adoption to take place. Some states do not require a report to be submitted to a court -- instead, they allow the agency or social worker to decide whether the prospective parents are fit to adopt (although a court will still have to approve the adoption).
The social worker will commonly ask about a number of areas considered important to the adoptive parents' ability to raise a child:
• financial stability
• marital stability
• lifestyles
• other children
• career obligations
• physical and mental health, and
• criminal history.
In recent years, the home study has become more than just a method of investigating prospective parents: It serves to educate and inform them as well. The social worker helps to prepare the adoptive parents by discussing issues such as how and when to talk with the child about being adopted, and how to deal with the reaction that friends and family might have to the adoption.
If the social worker ends up writing a negative report that claims you are unsuited to adopt, you may contest the conclusion. Each state has different appeal procedures. Some states provide for a separate procedure, while other states make the appeal part of the adoption hearing.
Moschetti Family Law can help you through the difficult and often confusing issues in adoption. Call us at (415) 399-0970 or contact us online.
