There are many options available to families considering adoption, from adoption agencies and adoption facilitators to do-it-yourself adoption. When starting the adoption process, many families find themselves asking, “Should we work with an attorney?” While the answer to this question is one you alone must reach, the following is a look at the reasons why an adoption attorney can provide vital assistance with your adoption.
- Legal issues are inherent in each adoption: Whether it be international, domestic, interstate, or some other form of adoption, legal issues will abound. No one besides a licensed attorney is charged with the duty of providing you with accurate legal advice. In a domestic adoption, your attorney will prove vital in determining the birth father’s potential role in the adoption. Depending upon his relationship with the birth mother and a variety of other factors, your attorney may need to untangle a legal web to ensure your adoption is legal and the birth father has no claim to the child. Other potential issues surround the selection of the birth mother. With years of experience, your attorney will provide unmatched insight into selecting a birth mother that will not later change her mind or complicate the adoption. Your attorney can advise you as to whether an open adoption is doable, or a red flag. Your attorney will determine whether you need a home study, and what expenses you can legally provide a birth mother. Your attorney will also handle all potential interstate or international legal issues and ensure the birth mother’s consent to adopt is valid. The list goes on and on, as the number of potential legal issues is tremendous in each and every adoption.
- Adoption is a complex legal process: Adoption is a legal process that is far more complex and less formulaic than signing a contract. Legally, adoption is the process by which an individual’s rights, duties, and privileges are severed from his or her child, and these rights are concurrently conferred upon the adoptive parents. The laws on adoption vary greatly by state and there are numerous pitfalls along the way. Your adoption attorney is the only individual with the thorough knowledge of adoption law necessary to obtain the results you desire.
- An adoption attorney can expedite and simplify the adoption process: Adoption can take time, but it will take far longer if you attempt to go it alone or use an adoption agency that may have unanswered legal questions or be bogged down with potential adopters. By retaining the assistance of a licensed adoption attorney, you can rest assured your adoption receives the top priority and all legal issues will be promptly resolved so that the adoption is not unnecessarily held up.
- An adoption attorney will be there to push through any legal hurdles: There is a strong possibility that at some point during your adoption journey, you will encounter a legal obstacle. Perhaps it is the birth father attempting to block the adoption, or interstate laws complicating transport, or any other myriad issues. With a skilled adoption attorney by your side, you can rest assured that these obstacles will be vigorously attacked so that your adoption can push forward.
McDowell Chartered: Kansas Adoption Attorneys Assisting in Your Domestic Adoption
Since 1992, the Kansas Adoption Law Attorneys at McDowell Chartered have assisted families in domestic, interstate, and international adoptions. Our experienced attorney staff can handle any type of adoption and can aid potential adopters in locating a child. For decades, our skilled attorney team has provided quality legal services to families throughout Kansas, simplifying and expediting the adoption process. Call us today at (316) 633-4322 for an initial consultation.