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Step-parent Adoption (continued)
Often times, it is better to do this while a child is pre-school age so that there is less confusion about the child’s sir-name and probably less general confusion for the child. A step-parent adoption can occur for children of any age, including individuals over the age of 21.
Agency Adoption
This type of adoption is one where a family is registered with a licensed child placing agency like Catholic Charities or
Lutheran Social Services and placement of a child is made through the agency. Families may be seeking a newborn, a younger child or a child of any age. In most cases the agency handles the termination of the natural parents’ rights
themselves through the court, prior to choosing a new family for the specific child. The agency charges certain fees, which attempt to cover their cost of terminating parent-child
relationships and its other administrative functions, like
attempting to put together the best children - parent matches and supervising their placements.
The agency will ask you to contact your lawyer shortly after you receive the placement of the child. From our first meeting with the client to the adoption hearing, it generally takes 2 ½ to 3 months. Statutes require a period of supervision and the court usually likes to give the agency a couple of months to observe the child in the home to insure that the placement is working well. This process ends in the adoption hearing, which is usually a 10 minute uncontested hearing with a Judge, where the Court gives a signed Adoption Decree at the conclusion of the hearing.
Next: Private Adoption
Previous: Step-parent Adoption
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