Legal Considerations When Adopting or Putting Up for Adoption
Adoption is a rewarding and fantastic way to grow your family. Besides placing an abused or neglected foster child in a loving, forever home, adoption can also impact birth parents, extended family, adoptive parents, and your community.
However, the adoption process isn’t easy. It involves home and reference checks, waiting periods, paperwork, etc. These considerations can make the adoption process long, tedious, and challenging.
Luckily, experienced adoption attorneys can help you complete the process legally, ethically, and safely. Contact us online to learn more about how we can assist you in completing your adoption in Oklahoma.
So, what are the legal considerations when adopting or putting a baby up for adoption?
Legal Considerations When Adopting
The basic Oklahoma adoption laws include:
- You must be at least 21 years old.
- You can be married, divorced, or single.
- You must be able to manage your income to cater to your family.
- You must provide sufficient beds and space for the adoptee’s items.
- Your spouse is required to participate in the home assessment process.
- You must be capable of loving, understanding, and accepting a child. Your role is to provide nurturance and protection to the child placed in your care.
Often, the home assessment can include the following:
- Fingerprinting
- Reference checks
- Background checks
- House safety assessment
- Medical examination report
- Verification of income sufficiency
- Automobile insurance verification
- Proof of vaccination for pets
- Completion of O.K.D.H.S. forms and application
- Family assessment, including interviews with family members
Moreover, your adoption attorney in OKC must help decide on either of the following adoption options:
- Step-parent Adoption: This describes any situation whereby someone becomes a legal parent/guardian for their spouse’s child.
- Same-Sex Adoption: In Oklahoma, same-sex married couples can legally adopt a child. We have non-discrimination laws to protect L.G.B.T.Q. parents from discrimination from agencies and officials.
- Relative Adoption: Often involves the adoption of a niece, nephew, or grandchild.
- International Adoption: Through the help of an adoption attorney, an Oklahoman can adopt a child from another country.
- Foster Adoption: This is a specific and complex adoption whereby a child in the foster care system is legally free for adoption.
- Interstate Adoption: An adoption attorney is needed for an Oklahoman to adopt a child from another state based on the laws of that other state.
- Domestic Infant Adoption: This is the most common form of adoption in Oklahoma because it involves the adoption of a U.S.-born infant. Under Oklahoma adoption laws, if the mother signs a release, the newborn baby can be released into the custody of an adoptive parent directly from the hospital.
Legal Considerations When Putting up for Adoption
The first step to giving up your baby for adoption is choosing the right adoption option for you. Adoption lawyers at OKC can help you pick the best adoption option for you. Here are the most common adoption options:
- Closed adoption: You, the adoptive family, and your child will have no contact.
- Semi-open adoption: You, the adoptive family, and your child can communicate through your adoption agent. No one will have each other’s details.
- Open adoption: You, the adoptive family, and your child have each other’s contact. You can communicate via letters, texts, videos, calls, in-person visits, etc.
Moreover, an adoption attorney will ensure that:
- Your rights are upheld
- Your adoption is legal
- Your parental rights are legally and ethically terminated
- That the financial compensation you receive is legal
Your attorney will also ensure that the baby’s dad’s parental rights are terminated correctly.
Contact Us for Honest Adoption Legal Services
The adoption laws in Oklahoma can be complex and confusing. That’s why you need to first understand these legal considerations. Luckily, you can engage an adoption attorney to help speed up the process and save money and time. The adoption attorney ensures that all the paperwork is completed correctly and that you understand the complex legal language.
Contact Lisa R. Howard, P.L.L.C., if you’re considering being involved in an adoption proceeding. We strive to make sure that every party is fairly represented. Most importantly, we want every adoptee to have a safe, full, and happy life with the best outcome possible.