Child Custody

There is nothing more fulfilling for a couple than to have a child of their own. However, this may not be a reality for most couples, particularly those who are facing infertility problems. For some, adoption may be the only option.

Adoption is a delicate process that in the end will benefit both the adopted and the adoptee. Through this legal grant of parentage, a couple can be given the same fulfillment as having a biological child while an orphan child can be placed in a home where he can receive love and care from loving parents.

Adoption in a Nutshell

In its simplest sense, adoption is a legal process where a child is placed under the parental custody of adoptive parents. Generally, only minor children can be adopted. Most of these waiting children are orphans who are placed in child care agencies or orphanages while waiting for willing adopters. Once the applicant adopters, who are commonly required to be married, have qualified to provide foster care, the custody over the child is vested with them.

There are also biological parents who are willing to give their children up for adoption. To vest legal custody in the adopting parents, biological parents must completely relinquish their custodial rights over the child. Such waiver, however, is no longer be necessary when parental authority has been terminated by the court such as when the biological parents are found unfit to care for their children or have abandoned them.

Adoption Proceedings

Adoption involves a legal process, which requires the intervention of the court. Persons required to attend proceedings for adoption include the adopting parents, the placing parents, the child or children, the case and social workers, and such parties' attorneys.

The proceedings are handled by a judge, whose responsibilities include reviewing the information, asking questions and making the final decision on whether the adoption should be granted. The judge bases his decision on several factors. These include home study and evaluation results of the suitability of parenting of the adoptive parents, information regarding pre-adoption counseling and education for adoptive parents as well as the notes and recommendations of case workers.

Upon the grant of adoption, all parental rights and responsibilities are transferred to the adopting parents by legal fiction of law.

What Happens After the Adoption Proceedings

After the adoption is finalized, the names of the biological parents are replaced with the names of the adoptive parents in the child's newly amended birth certificate. More importantly, the child's birth name is replaced with his or her new adoptive name. In most cases, adoption documents including the old birth certificate are sealed and are not made available to the adoption parties as detailed by state law.