Adoption
Our office provides adoption services to adoptive parents and birthparents. Our role is to provide you with sound legal advice and information in order to realize your adoption plan. We will make ourselves available to personally coach you through the adoption process.
Our priority is to get you to a safe adoption that is right for everyone involved. Below you will find information regarding the different areas of adoption where we can use our experience to help you:
- Newborn Adoption and Independent Adoption
- Relative Adoption
- Step-parent Adoption
- Domestic Partner Adoption
- Second-Parent Adoption
- Adult Adoption
Newborn Adoption
Our goal is to help you choose the best method to set up your adoption, whether this entails an agency adoption or independent adoption. Our office will help you address birthparent’s rights, as well as the finalization of your adoption. Most adoptions in our office are open adoptions, but we also work with birthparents who choose to have a semi-open or closed adoption.
Throughout the adoption process you will have many questions. Whether you are begin the search for a birthmother match or have already found a birthmother who wants to place her child with you, we can provide a full array of adoption services to you.
Relative Adoption
A Relative Adoption is where a mother and/or father select a member of the family to be the adoptive parents of their child. Often this is a family decision, and our role is to make the process go as smoothly as possible. We will work with all of the family members to put together an adoption plan and help establish a future contact agreement. We will also connect you with an adoption counselor who can prepare you for the difficult conversations that may arise with the child later in life.
Step Parent Adoption / Domestic Partner Adoption
In step-parent or domestic partner adoption, one partner adopts their partner’s child(ren). Registered domestic partners can do a step-parent or domestic partner adoption. Where they are not registered, the non-legal parent has to go through a more complex adoption process called a second parent adoption.
Adult Adoption
Adult adoptions are common in cases where someone who is not biologically-related to the child has raised them to adulthood. Where a parent-child dynamic has been established but not legally recognized, an adult adoption gives this relationship legal effect. While adult adoptions are carried out for various purposes, some adults go through this process for sentimental reasons. This adoption service is completed through a court process, and can be done in a short window of time.