For adoptive parents and children, adoptions are a wonderful experience of long-lasting consequence. Our office has been fortunate to represent a large number of individuals and couples over the past 25 years in this endeavor. These adoptions have occurred either as a result of a private placement of a child or through an agency placement of a child.
Private adoptions can involve a variety of circumstances leading to the placement of a child with adoptive parents. Each private-placement adoption must be evaluated through a careful review of its own set of facts so that the appropriate procedural sets are determined and followed. This ensures that the various rights of the parties involved are addressed and that the applicable statutory requirements are satisfied.
The second type of adoption, an agency adoption, involves the placement by an agency of a child in its custody with an individual or couple. Depending on the circumstances, this placement may be regarded as foster-care placement or pre-adoptive placement. If a child is initially placed in foster care, he or she may be freed for adoption as a result of a court order or by consent of the birth parent. The process of freeing a child for adoption can involve extensive court proceedings. In certain circumstances foster parents can participate as a party in those proceedings. Our office has provided the necessary legal representation so that evidence is presented within a judicial proceeding that may ultimately affect the outcome of a case.
Agency adoptions often involve post-adoption contact agreements which may affect the adoptive child and/or his new parents for the balance of the child's minority. Our office has substantial experience in negotiating and reviewing these agreements to ensure that they are consistent with the best interest of the adoptive child/parents.
In summary, our office has an abundance of expertise to assist in any aspect of private or agency adoption matters.
