According to federal statistics, there are more than 100,000 children who are adopted each year in this country. It is likely there would be even more children added to that annual list, but the adoption process can be a difficult and complicated one. This is why many potential parents who are seeking to adopt will retain the services of a skilled family lawyer.
If you are considering adoption, contact a family lawyer who can help.
As a step parent adoption lawyer, such as our friends at Felt Family Law can explain, there are four main types of adoption that a person may consider. These are:
- Agency Adoption: This is when a private agency facilitates the adoption. If the adoption involves foster children, then the adoption is often handled by the state agency that oversees children and family services.
- Private Adoption: This is when the biological parents and the adoptive parents set the adoption up without the assistance of an adoption agency.
- International Adoption: This is when a person or couple adoptions a child who is from another country.
- Related Adoption: This is when a family member adopts a child they are related to. This can include grandparents, stepparents, aunts, uncles, and other extended family members.
How to Prepare for an Adoption
No matter what type of adoption you are planning, there are certain steps you will want to take in order to help prepare for the process. The first thing you will want to do is to make sure you are financially prepared. The process to adopt can be expensive, this is especially true for both private and international adoptions.
Once the adoption has taken place, you will now be legally responsible for the medical care of the child, so you will want to make sure you have the child’s medical records. This can be an easy step in a related or private adoption. However, it can be more difficult to get those records when it is an agency or international adoption. Having a family lawyer working for you can make the process easier, since he or she will have dealt with this issue many times before and understands the complexities – as well as the solutions – in obtaining these records.
Another critical step to the adoption process is preparing emotionally for the challenges that may lie ahead. The child’s adjustment to the his or her new family can take time and is often fraught with ups and downs. This can be especially true for an international adoption where the child comes from a foreign culture or a foster child who has been moved around from foster home to foster home and may have emotional issues to overcome.
Although there may be these emotional challenges, most adoptive parents will attest to how rewarding adoption has been for their families. Contact a family lawyer to learn more about the adoption process.