Adoption

Guiding Families Through Every Step of the Adoption Journey

Expert Legal Counsel for Adoption

Adoption has many facets and touches people in different ways depending on their role and perspective. Adoptions are by far the highlight of family law. Adoption is a legal process that establishes a permanent, legal relationship between a child and individuals who are not their biological parents. The specific details and requirements of adoption can vary.

Eligibility and Process for Stepparent Adoption

In order to be eligible for adoption the parental rights of the parents must be terminated. However, in the case of a stepparent adoption, only one of the parents must have had their rights terminated. This makes the child eligible to be adopted by the person married to his or her custodial parent. There are several steps involved in this process, which makes it lengthier than expected:

In-home evaluations
Interviews must take place with all members of the household.
Background checks are also required for the parent seeking to adopt and the custodial parent.

The Alchemy Attorneys love unifying families and honors the value of all our interpersonal and professional connections, that is why adoptions are joyful aspects of our practice. Let us help you with:

Open adoptions allow birth parents to know and have contact with the adoptive parents and the child.
In Closed adoptions there is no contact whatsoever between the birthparents and the adoptive parents and the child.
Intra Family Adoption/Relative Adoption occurs when the partner of the custodial parent applies with their partner to adopt the child in their care. A relative can adopt a member of its family.