Do I Need a Lawyer for an Uncontested Adoption?

It is not uncommon for the birth parent of a minor child to remarry, and their new spouse wants to adopt that child as their own. Oftentimes, the other biological parent is no longer present or has no interest in contesting such a stepparent adoption. Does this mean the stepparent can proceed with an uncontested adoption without an adoption attorney?

Strictly speaking, you do not have to hire an attorney to complete the adoption process. That does not make it a good idea. Even in the best-case scenario — that is, an uncontested stepparent adoption — there are a number of legal formalities to follow to get full parental rights.

There are several steps in the adoption process, from filing an adoption petition to attending a court hearing. For legal guidance through the process, consult with an experienced adoption lawyer.

What Is Adoption?

“Adoption is the termination of a biological parent’s rights in order to establish a parent-child relationship with another person,” explains Jason C. Brown, a family law attorney at Barna, Guzy & Steffen in Coon Rapids, Minnesota.

“The person who gets the parental rights can be a family member, a friend or colleague, or someone completely unknown to the biological parents who is identified through an agency of some sort.”

How Does The Legal Process of Adopting Start?

“Adoptions start with a petition for adoption that outlines the underlying facts and why the person seeks to adopt a child,” says Brown. “Then the relevant government agency gets involved to scrutinize the potential adoptive parents.”

Scrutiny is minimal in some cases, says Brown — for example, in a stepparent or grandparent adoption, where there’s already a relationship between the child and adult. “However, in a traditional adoption, social workers conduct in-depth home studies. So, a lot hinges on whether there’s already a familial connection or not.”

Once the home study process is complete, the fun begins with the court hearing. “Judges will typically be prepared for photos and might even have a gift for the family or something like that to commemorate the occasion. About the only nice thing that happens at a courthouse is adoptions,” says Brown.

You Must Follow Your State’s Adoption Process

Most states have specialized family or adoption courts to handle adoption proceedings. Adoption isn’t official until the court approves it.

State adoption laws are similar in their general provisions, but can vary widely in specifics. To adopt, you generally must:

• File an adoption petition with the adoption court
• The adoptive parents must file a number of legal documents within specified deadlines
• The prospective adoptive parents must resolve any outstanding questions surrounding the child’s paternity
• File the biological parents’ written consent or a prior court order terminating the birth parents’ rights
• After filing the petition for adoption, the court may require a post-placement evaluation
• Attend an adoption hearing at the court

Mindy Stannard, a family law attorney at Morris, Stannard & Batalden in Portland, Oregon, notes that uncontested adoptions are most often stepparent adoptions or the result of another family member stepping in to adopt after a family member has passed.

Uncontested adoptions still take time. “Even with an adoption where you’re not doing a home study… I usually tell clients you might be looking at a six-month window — even if things go really smoothly,” she says.

Who Must Receive Notice of the Adoption Hearing?

Everyone with an interest in the adoption must receive notice of the hearing. Interested parties include:

• The biological parents of the child
• The child, if they are over a certain age (typically 12 to 14 years of age)
• The adoption agency or other intermediaries used in the adoption process
• The state

Three Big Questions in an Adoption Petition

Adoption petitions should address three key questions:

1. Are the prospective adoptive parents eligible?
2. Is the child available to adopt?
3. Is adoption in the best interests of the child?

Let’s look at each of these issues in more depth.

Who Is Eligible To Adopt?

State adoption laws govern eligibility to adopt. While there are variations across states, adoption laws generally allow the following parties to petition for adoption:

• Married couples who jointly petition the court to adopt
• Grandparents who want to adopt their grandchild
• Stepparents who want to adopt their stepchild
• Single individuals who seek to adopt

In the adoption petition, you will need to provide your personal information so the court can evaluate your adoption eligibility based on state adoption law.

Is the Child Available To Adopt?

The adoption petition must request and explain why the biological parent’s rights should be terminated, making the child available to adopt. Following termination, parental rights transfer to the adoptive parents.

Most adoptions used to be closed adoptions, meaning that the birth parents and adoptive parents never met each other. Now, most are open adoptions. Open adoption means both sets of parents meet each other during the adoption process and may stay in touch after the formal adoption.

Finding Children To Adopt

There are several ways to identify children for adoption:

• With the help of an adoption agency. There are both public and private adoption agencies. The state runs public agencies, typically as part of the state’s department of social services. Private agencies are usually operated by nonprofit organizations that may have a religious connection.
• Private adoption. In private adoptions (independent adoptions), prospective parents deal with a biological mother directly without an adoption agency. A lawyer, social worker, physician, or other individual functioning as an intermediary, can help facilitate private adoptions.
• Identified adoption. This is a hybrid between private and agency adoption. Typically, the prospective adoptive parents identify and connect with a biological mother who wants to put their child up for adoption. Increasingly, these connections may happen over social media. The prospective and birth parents then connect with an adoption agency to handle the process.
• International adoption. In many ways, international adoption is the most complex type of adoption. Different international laws and processes apply depending on the country you want to adopt from. Complex U.S. federal laws also apply, including the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) for visa and passport issues.

Is Adoption in the Best Interests of the Child?

The adoption petition should also address whether adoption is best for the child. Courts look at many factors to evaluate if adoption is best. A key part of the evaluation is the home study investigation.

A home study can last several months and results in a report on the prospective parents that assesses their:

• Family background and relationships
• Education
• Employment and financial situation
• Lifestyle and routines
• Neighborhood and living situation

With the help of home study reports, courts will evaluate if prospective parents are a good fit given the child’s circumstances and needs.

How an Adoption Attorney Can Help

Adoption is a legally complex and time-consuming process. And it can vary depending on the state you live in.

“You usually need to get an attorney in Oregon,” says Stannard, who illustrates the difference between different state’s adoption procedures. “I’ve done only one in Washington, where you can just order a pack of forms from the courthouse. But in Oregon there’s different steps and phases of the process, and you need to make sure that you dot all your i’s and cross all your t’s. It’s not as simple as downloading some forms.”

Getting qualified legal services is worth it. An experienced adoption attorney will:

• Understand state and federal laws governing your adoption case
• Know which international laws or procedures apply if you are adopting internationally
• Be familiar with the legal requirements for grandparent and stepparent adoption
• Help you understand your legal rights as a biological or adoptive parent
• Be able to verify consent and notice issues in adoption finalization
• Be able to navigate the termination of parental rights

You can find an experienced adoption lawyer in your area through the Super Lawyers directory. For legal advice about uncontested adoptions, talk to an experienced adoption lawyer.