The act of adopting a child will no doubt amount change a person’s life. While the ultimate act of welcoming a new child into one’s home constitutes a significant sacrifice on the part of the newly-appointed parent, the adoption process itself is one that requires time, patience, and a relatively thick emotional skin. Many people considering adoption often find themselves wondering whether or not they’ll require the help of a lawyer to see the procedure through to completion. Rusty Applegate is a South Carolina family law attorney with more than three decades of experience under his belt, and as such, he is more than familiar with such early-stage adoption ponderings. He also understands why it might seem like adoption is something that people can do on their own, especially in cases where an agency is involved. However, this doesn’t change the fact that there are plenty of good reasons to hire an attorney for any sort of adoption process. In fact, in some cases, the help of an attorney is practically mandatory.
In Applegate’s experience, the two most typical forms of adoption involve adopting a stepchild, and adopting a child “from scratch.” Each of these types of adoption comes with its own share of legal procedures and paperwork, and both have the potential to become messy and intricate rather quickly. For this reason, a lawyer can end up playing a pivotal role in helping move the process along in a way that is favorable for the soon-to-be adoptive parents.
Applegate thinks that candidates for adoption need to realize that in order for an adoption to be deemed legal and valid, one or more biological parent is required to terminate his or her parental rights to the child involved. Let’s take a man who wants to adopt his wife’s stepchild. In order for him to be able to adopt the child and gain the rights to act in an official parental capacity, the original birth father of that child must consent to the adoption and agree to officially forego his paternal rights. If the birth father refuses, then the situation isn’t hopeless, but it does become far more difficult. Of course, there are plenty of circumstances under which a court might terminate a birth father’s rights without his consent. If a father hasn’t seen or supported his child for a certain period of time, then such actions could constitute grounds for court-mandated termination of paternal rights. However, since such situations are rarely simple or clear-cut, the presence of a lawyer is usually required in order to represent the interests not only of the would-be stepfather, but of the child in question.
Just as a stepchild adoption involves the termination of an original parent’s right, so too does a “from scratch” adoption involve the same requirement. Let’s take two people who wish to adopt a child at birth who will not be related to them in any way. In this case, the adoption process is bound to involve a series of social worker investigations to ensure that the adoptive parents are fit for the parenting task. On top of this, the original parents will still be required to consent to a termination of their parental rights, and even in the smoothest of scenarios, a plethora of paperwork is likely to ensue. For this reason, it is important to have an attorney on board who can represent the adoptive parents and ensure that the rest of the adoption process is completed without a hitch.
After all is said and done, adoption is a complicated process, and one that is dependent on a strict adherence to legal guidelines. Considering the significant impact that adoption proceedings are bound to have on the parents and children involved, it is imperative that a lawyer be retained in any adoption scenario in order to protect the rights of those caught up in the mix. Remember, the opportunity to adopt a child doesn’t exactly spring up very often, so if you’re serious about adopting, then don’t run the risk of having the process go awry. Instead, do the smart thing and hire an experienced adoption attorney and prepare yourself for the long but wonderful journey ahead of you.
This article is for informational purposes only. You should not rely on this article as a legal opinion on any specific facts or circumstances, and you should not act upon this information without seeking professional counsel. Publication of this article and your receipt of this article does not create an attorney-client relationship.
