Going For Adoption? Know the Basics First – You may be going for adoption for a number of reasons. Either you are a childless parent or adopting a homeless child to fill the emptiness in his life with love and care; whatever the reason, there are certain legal formalities involved which you have to go through before reaching the final stage. Lack of awareness of legal terms and procedures can cause you financial loss as many companies take advantage of their uninformed clients.
Therefore, to enlighten you with the basics of adoption, here are some crucial considerations you should take into account.
When Are You Allowed To Adopt?
The legal causes which allow you to go for adoption comprise of the following.
- When you’re unable to extend your family biologically, which is why most of the couples go for adoption
- When you need to take care of minor children of your relatives or siblings, in case they have passed away or are incapable to do so
- When you have to adopt the children of the other spouse, legally adopting them will make them eligible for medical and health insurances
Legal Proceedings of Adoption
Legal proceedings can get intricate as you delve deeper into formalities. But, knowing about them beforehand can help you make right decisions on right time.
International and Domestic Adoption
International adoption refers to the adoption of a child outside of your country. In this case, you are required to go to the child’s birthplace as part of the legal proceedings. On the other hand, in domestic adoption, the adoption is within the country, but may differ with states. This, however, may include its own legal formalities.
Private and Agency Adoption
Private, as the word implies, is an adoption process in which all the work for which an adoption company is responsible for in normal circumstances, is done by you. You find the child through your own links and once found, you complete the remaining procedure with the help of your lawyer.
Agency adoption, on the other hand, is the one in which you seek help of the adoption centers for all the work. This includes looking for a child, homes studying and making sure you get things done right.
Open and Closed Adoption
Open adoption is the one in which the birth parents and adoptive parents of the child meet and get to know each other. Their identification is not kept hidden. Moreover, adoptive parents may allow the birth parents to keep visiting their child after the adoption as well. Whereas, close adoption is the one in which the identities of both parents, the birth and adoptive, are not disclosed. Thus, there is no contact between them.
Your legal advisor will assist you in carrying on the legal formalities when you’re adopting a child. An honest attorney will make sure there is no chance of fraud and betrayal in this pure and nice step. The lawyers at Nelson Law Group PC are there to advise and assist you if you’re willing to adopt a child. For more details, contact us at (972) 808.7227.
