Brindle McCormack & Williams, P.C.

Adoption is the process in which an adult who is not a child's biological parent becomes the child's legal parent. Adoptions require the consent of the biological parents, including parents who have neglected or abandoned the child. If a biological parent does not consent, there are certain circumstances in which the court will grant an adoption even without that consent. Consent is not required from parents whose parental rights have been terminated by the state. The law treats adopting parents as the biological parents. If the adopting parents should divorce after the adoption, the adopting parents will still be treated as the biological parents for all purposes, including legal obligations to pay child support. In a private or independent adoption, prospective adoptive parents are advised by an adoption attorney, instead of working with an adoption agency. Because adoption is, for the most part, controlled by state law, you'll want to hire an experienced adoption attorney who is knowledgeable about the differing requirements for different circumstances.