Adoption – What is Adoption?
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In making the adoption decision, you’re making a parenting choice that will be one of the most important, and difficult, decisions you’ll make. When you are considering adoption as a means of adding a child to your family, you should consider several issues, physical, emotional and legal.
The adoption process can be so complex, that some people are turned off the idea. But, with the right information, the adoption process doesn’t have to seem insurmountable. One part of the right information, is understanding adoption, and the adoption process.
A broad definition of adoption is as follows: “Adoption is a legal process that creates a permanent relationship between a couple, or a single adult, and a child.” In most cases, a childless couple is paired with an orphan — a child without parents, and much of the adoption process is concerned with creating suitable matches.
Because adoption is a legal process, it goes much further than simply making suitable family matches. Parental rights and responsibilities are given to the adopting parents, and the adoptive child is granted the legal, emotional and social rights and responsibilities of a natural family member.
When the process of adoption is complete, the adopted child has the same rights as a biological child, including the legal rights of inheritance.
Adoption finalization includes court proceedings to identify the biological parents of the child, and ensure that their rights are not violated. In doing so, the result is a fair, lawful and legal adoption that can withstand any external conflicts.
The identification of the biological parents can be difficult, depending in part on the state laws in effect, and the circumstances of the adoption. A typical scenario involves a ward of the court–a child that is orphaned due to the court’s termination of the parental rights of the biological parents.
In the scenario of a teenage girl being the adoptive child’s mother, sometimes the court will both terminate her parental rights, and finalize the adoption within the same court proceeding.
In the process of adoption finalization, the family court judge reviews all the gathered information about the child, their biological parents, and the adoptive parents. This information can include:
* the results from the home study
* an evaluation of the adopting parents and an assessment of their ability to take custody of the child
* reports, if available, from pre-adoption counseling
* notes and recommendations compiled by the caseworker
as well as any additional information desired by the judge.
The following groups of people generally attend the adoption proceedings:
* the adoptive parents with their adoption attorney
* the biological parent(s) and their adoption attorney
* the child being adopted
* the legal advocate for the adoptive child
* the child’s caseworker
* the caseworker(s) for the adoptive and biological parents.
In the presence of the people listed above, the family court judge renders his decision — either approval or disapproval of the petition for adoption. If the adoption petition is approved, the adoption is final, and an Adoption Decree is issued.