Adoption is normally one of the happier areas of family law, but it is not without potential complications. Prospective adoptive parents can prevent and overcome obstacles with the help of a family law attorney with experience in this area. A well-executed adoption can provide security for all parties concerned in what is sometimes a delicate transaction.
For clear direction in your family’s adoption journey, seek legal counsel early in the process. At Creighton McLean & Shea PLC, we make special efforts to ensure that our services meet our clients’ needs.
Considerations For Adoptive Families
Once you adopt your stepchild, niece, nephew, grandchild or any child or adult, that person will become part of your family with all the same rights as children born to you, as follows:
- After adoption, the adoptee will have the same inheritance rights as any of your children.
- You will have the same decision-making powers for an adopted underage child that any parent has.
- In case of a divorce or separation, an adopted minor son or daughter would have the same rights to child support as any other child of yours.
If one or both birth parents are still living, their parental rights must be terminated before you can proceed with the adoption. Perhaps your fiance’s former partner has been out of the child’s life since the beginning. Even so, a court must end their parental rights before you can plan on becoming the child’s legal parent. Our lawyers will help you find the most expedient way to accomplish this.
In case of any controversies, we can help you resolve those in the least disruptive manner.
Types Of Adoption We Can Help With
Adoptions take place in various forms and may be classified as independent, agency, stepparent, relative placement and adult adoptions.
- In an independent adoption, prospective parents locate an available child and seek legal formalization of the new relationship. Sometimes a caring relationship already exists and the family seeks to formalize that relationship through adoption. In other cases, a medical doctor, clergyperson or friend may introduce the birth parents and would-be adoptive parents.
- In a stepparent adoption, the new spouse of a birth parent will adopt, often after a divorce or the death of the other birth parent.
- In an adult adoption, someone who is 18 years old or older becomes the legal son or daughter of another adult individual or couple. The adoptee may be a caregiver or have another natural connection to the adoptive parent(s). The birth parents of the adult adoptee will not need to give consent and, usually, no home study is required.
- Relative placement adoption may occur when the birth parents of a child who is still a minor have died or become unfit or disabled, or the child has been removed due to abuse and neglect. An aunt, uncle, or older brother or sister may have assumed physical custody and responsibility for the child. Adoption is a natural next step for many such family groups.
We Help Bring Families Together
We are here for you. Please call Creighton McLean & Shea PLC in Livonia to discuss your adoption needs with one of our attorneys. You can reach us by phone at 734-245-9289 or via email to arrange an initial consultation.
