The decision to adopt is one of the biggest choices a person or family can make in their lifetime. It is a rewarding experience for the new parents and the child being adopted into a new family, but it is not without complications.
Understanding family law can be difficult, but a confident and experienced attorney will help make the experience as smooth and positive as it can be.
How do family law and adoption go together?
Knowing your rights and responsibilities is crucial to the process of adoption and can make all the difference in how smoothly the process goes. Eliminating as much stress as possible and streamlining family law proceedings should be the main focus of any good attorney.
A lawyer you can count on will work to make sure your interests, and perhaps most importantly, the child’s interests, are represented and protected. Adoption is not something you want to tackle on your own, as the legal in’s and out’s are complex and any mistakes in paperwork can delay your progress.
Closed Adoption
Closed, or confidential, adoption means there is no contact between the adoptive family and the birth family. Limited information in regards to medical history is provided through a third party, usually to protect the child and allow them to feel safe. Identities are kept confidential and locations are not disclosed to help eliminate any security issues.
Open Adoption
In an open adoption, there is interaction between the birth family and the adopting family. There may be unlimited contact or visitation as determined by either the families or the court. This is something a family law attorney will help you arrange ahead of time.
Semi-Open (Mediated) Adoption
This type of adoption allows there to be some contact between the adoptive parents and the birth parents, and potentially the child, if it is determined beneficial. There may be cards, letters, or other correspondence but there is still a level of privacy maintained that allows all parties to be comfortable.
Different ways to adopt
There are many ways of adopting a child, including public agencies that deal with children in the foster system who are in the care of the state. Private agencies are usually managed by independent organizations or religious institutions, and deal primarily with children whose parents have given them up for adoption.
Independent adoption is when the birth parents and the adoptive parents essentially choose one another. However, there is still a great deal of legal paperwork in this type of arrangement and it is best to approach it with an attorney who has experience in family law.
International adoption is extremely complicated as there are requirements to be met with the state and the country from which the child is being adopted. The Hague Adoption Convention was introduced to protect children and parents on both sides from adoption scams, unethical practices, and international child abductions. This increases the complexity of international adoption and almost always requires an attorney to be successful.
Step-parent adoption is very common when one parent remarries and the new spouse wants to be legally responsible for their children. It can be a fairly simple process if neither party objects, but if the parent does not consent or is unable to be located, there will be a substantial amount of paperwork and time required.
How an adoption attorney can help
There are a great deal of unique factors involved in each adoption; stakes are high and there is a lot on the line. There is little room or time for error and it can be stressful to get everything right. This is why an experienced attorney is crucial to your success. The Law Offices of Ryan E. Simpson are committed to family law in Sandy, Utah.
If you are considering adoption of any type, contact the Law Offices of Ryan E. Simpson to schedule your free consultation and put your growing family on the road to a positive adoption experience.
