Some adoptions do not begin until after a child is born. Other adoptions begin while the baby is still in the birth mother’s womb. Some adoptions involve adoption agencies, while other adoptive parents and birth parents arrange for an adoption to occur without the aid of an agency, and sometimes even without an attorney.
Adoption is a serious process, and the well-being of multiple people are involved in it, for life. The child who is being adopted needs a secure family connection that will last a lifetime. The parents who are adopting the child plan for that child to become part of their family forever. The birth parent or birth parents, when they relinquish their parental rights to a child, are entrusting the child’s adoptive parents with the care of that child forever. When adoption is considered on these terms, it is clear that adoption is one of the most important events that all of the parties involved will ever experience.
Because adoption is so important, many adoptive parents work with an attorney during the adoption process to ensure that the adoption is legal and valid. When prospective parents do not pursue adoption with the aid of an attorney, they expose themselves to the risk that something will disrupt the adoption process, and the child that they plan to adopt will, for some reason, not become a permanent part of their lives, if they become part of their lives at all.
One recent situation in Kansas shows just how heartbreaking it can be for a prospective parent when adoption does not go as planned. A woman arranged with a pregnant woman to adopt her child. The pregnant woman provided the prospective mother with sonogram photos, and during the biological mother’s pregnancy, the prospective mother prepared her home for the daughter that she believed would soon join her there.
When the prospective mother went to meet up with the biological mother to attend a sonogram appointment with her, the woman was no longer pregnant, and the baby was not with her. The prospective mother was devastated, and in addition to her pain at not being able to have the baby that she thought would be hers, she is concerned for the safety and well-being of the child, wherever she is.
The aforementioned tragic story is just one of the ways that an arrangement that seems to be heading in the direction of adoption can go wrong. An adoption is a serious event in the lives of everyone involved, and great care must be taken to ensure that it gets completed correctly. If you are interested in adopting a child, it is essential that you work with an adoption attorney. Your attorney will guide you through the adoption process towards the joyful outcome of welcoming a child or children into your family. If you are a birth parent, working with an adoption attorney can help you to ensure the best possible adoption experience for you and your child. If you have questions about adoption, Kansas Adoption Attorney Thomas McDowell may be able to help you. Please call us today, at (316) 633-4322 to schedule an initial consultation.