With the assistance of the right adoption attorney, your family can work through the complicated adoption system seemingly effortlessly. When a child is adopted, he/she is afforded all benefits of natural children, and the adoptive parents take on all legal duties for caring for that child.
Before adopting a child, the child’s birthparents’ parental rights must be legally terminated. This may be done voluntarily or involuntarily. For voluntary cases where the termination of parental rights is completed within 48 hours of the child’s birth, consent of the birth parents can only be revoked if fraud or duress is proven.
Consent proves to be one of the most challenging aspects of adoption law. Depending on the situation, there may be several parties which must consent to an adoption.
- The adoptive parents
- The birthparents, provided their rights have not been terminated by a court of competent jurisdiction
- The presiding judge
- The child (if he/she is aged 12 or older)
- If applicable, the legal guardian(s)
The circumstances for adoption are different for every family, but the most important aspect is always that the child is provided a safe and happy home. The family law lawyers at Pimentel & Castillo are dedicated to protecting you and your child, and guiding you though the steps of adoption.