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How can I initiate an adult adoption?

Adult adoption is a legal process the gives an adopted person a new name, a new birth certificate, and the right to be legally identified with her new family. Whether or not an adult can be adopted depends on the circumstances of the adoption and the reason for the adoption. While each state has different guidelines regarding the adult adoption process, there are some general trends and rules to follow so that your adult adoption paperwork is approved by the court without any problems.

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What is a second-parent adoption?

The definition of second parent adoption is that a child who already has one parent with parental rights is adopted by another parent, without terminating the existing parental rights. For example: if Joe is already Ann’s parent, and Sue wants to adopt Ann without terminating Joe’s rights, then a second parent adoption would be used. In a second parent adoption, both the existing parent and the ‘second’ parent will have legal guardianship and rights to the child.

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What is an open adoption?

Open adoption means that a birth parent and a child may continue to have contact, even after the birth parent gives her parental rights to the adoptive parent; or that a child will have the right to know who his or her biological parents are.

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What happens in the case of a missing parent or an abandonment?

Adoption laws differ, sometimes greatly, by state, but in general an adoption case involving a missing parent or abandonment is a matter of determining to the court’s satisfaction that the abandonment has, in fact, taken place. All reasonable efforts must be made to locate a missing parent, and if the parent is found or his or her location is known, reasonable efforts must be made to prove that he or she has chosen to abandon the child, before any adoption proceedings can go forward.

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Is a father’s consent required if the child was the result of rape or incest?

If a child is produced as the result of rape or incest, the mother may be psychologically disposed to place the child up for adoption in order to not be reminded of the pain and suffering that she was caused by the circumstances surrounding the child’s birth. The rules regarding whether or not she will need the father’s consent to put the child up for adoption can vary, but in most states, the answer is that she generally will when possible.

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Is a child’s consent necessary for adoption?

Whether or not a child’s consent is necessary for adoption will depend on the circumstances and the age of the child. Of course, in the event that a child is adopted as an infant, no child consent is required. However, if an older child is being adopted, then child consent may be required if the child is old enough to make an informed choice and make his or her opinion known.

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When is a natural parent ‘unfit’, so as to allow adoption without his/her consent?

In all states in the US, the consent of both natural parents is required for an adoption to take place, unless the parent is considered’unfit’ by the court. In that case, an adoption can go forward even without the consent of that parent. The rules for an’unfit’ parent vary depending on the state, as each state has its own specific laws, but in very general terms there are a few specific things that will normally render a parent ‘unfit.’

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