Types of Adoption

I work with families wishing to adopt through all stages of the process, from initial consultation to finalization. Because Kansas strictly forbids attorneys from finding a child for clients, I provide pointers to help you carefully locate birth families, especially via the Internet.

There are two basic types of adoptions: open adoption and closed adoption.

Open: Birth parents have direct contact with the adoptive parents before and after the adoption. The birth parents decide how much information they want to know or share. Together with the adoptive parents, they also decide how much contact they want with the adoptive parents and the child once the adoption is finalized. (Kansas is an open adoption state.)

Closed: Birth parents may be given some non-identifying information about the adoptive parents, but have no specific information about the adoptive parents. The adoptive parents learn about the birth parents and are given information that might help them care for the child.

Rest assured that I will provide safe and confidential services in a caring environment to assist in making decisions that best fit your family's needs. When you make the decision to adopt, and are ready to add your name to my adoptive family pool, please return the Adoption Intake Form to my email me at: lisa@theadoptiongroup.com so we can begin the adoption process.

An agency can help the birth parents or adoptive parents find one another, and typically, the agency provides adoption services such as counseling and financial support to the birth parents. The birth parents may even be involved when choosing the adoptive parents by reviewing “resumes” of interested parents.

In a private agency adoption, a birth parent relinquishes his or her parental rights to the adoption agency by signing a consent in favor of the agency. After the adoptive parents have been identified and after the child is born, each birth parent gives consent to guardianship of the child in favor of the agency. This consent, which in Kansas is irrevocable after signing, gives the agency the right to place the child for adoption. The agency then places the child for adoption with adoptive parents selected by either the birth parent or the agency.

As with most other types of adoption, a home study is required as part of the adoption process. The agency working with the families will provide the home study services. Meanwhile, the adoption agency files a petition in the appropriate circuit court to obtain legal guardianship of the child and the child will be placed with the prospective adopting parents if the parents are willing to assume the risk of placement before the birth parents parental rights are terminated. Otherwise, the baby will be placed in a foster home until the parental rights are terminated. The child will then be placed with the adopting couple.

Foster care adoptions come through a public agency, such as the Department for Children and Families (DCF) through the Child Welfare Case Management Providers, a private contractor responsible for finding homes for children who do not have another adoption resource available. Once a child has been removed from his or her home, DCF will place the child into a foster home. If the situation is not resolved and the child is not returned to his or her family, the State will begin court proceedings to terminate the parents' rights. If DCF maintains custody, the child will frequently be placed for adoption with the foster parents who have cared for them. The adoption thereafter proceeds by filing the Petition for Adoption and navigating the court system until the adoption is finalized, similar to the private agency adoption.

A step-parent adoption is a type of independent adoption where a step-parent adopts the child of their spouse and the spouse maintains his/her legal rights.

Step-parent adoptions can be sensitive, especially if the other biological/legal parent is still alive. With a step-parent adoption, because the biological/legal parents’ parental rights would be terminated, they must be notified and approve of the step-parent’s intent to adopt. If the biological/legal parent cannot be found or refuses to consent, it is still possible for a court to grant the adoption. In this instance, the biological/legal parent must be notified of the adoption and provided an opportunity to object. If the legal parent does not object the adoption will be granted if it is in the best interest of the child. If a legal parent objects to the adoption, then the outcome is specific to each case.

I represent step-parents, birth parents or the child (if older than 14 years of age) in step-parent adoptions, whether consensual or contested by the natural parent.

An adult adoption occurs when one adult adopts another. Once an adult adoption is complete, the parties have a legal parent-child relationship with all associated rights and responsibilities. The most common reason to adopt an adult is for inheritance purposes. The second reason, almost as common, is to formalize an existing parent/child relationship, such as adopting a now adult foster child or step-child or a father who finds children they didn't know they had. Finally, adult adoptions often occur to provide perpetual care for an adult who has a diminished capacity or disability. Through the adoption process, one adult can become the responsible party and decision-maker for another adult's care.

An adult adoption proceeds under the same rules and statutes as an independent/private adoption. Meaning, the adult adoptee must give their written consent, or the legal guardian of a disabled adult adoptee must give their consent, as well as the spouse of the petitioner or the spouse's legal guardian if they are disabled.

A relative adoption is the adoption of a child who is related by blood or marriage to the prospective adoptive parents, who are the child’s grandparent, aunt, uncle, cousin, sibling, etc. Since the birthparent(s) are surrendering the child directly to you, there will likely be no agency involvement.

However, termination of parental rights of the child’s legal parents must occur either through voluntarily signing a consent or involuntary termination of parental rights by the court based on lack of financial or emotional involvement on the part of the birthparent(s).

You will need an attorney, however, in order to finalize the adoption. Additionally, because a relative is adopting, there is no need for the adoption home study.

The Interstate Compact on the Placement of Children (ICPC) requires strict rules to be followed and steps to be taken before a child can be moved from one state to another for the purposes of adoption. When the child is born or resides in a state other than the one of the adopting family, the adoption is interstate, and must then comply with ICPC.

An interstate adoption can be private, agency or agency-assisted. The adopting couple must have completed a home study and depending upon the laws of their home state, it may be necessary to obtain a foster parent license from a child welfare agency, even if the adoption is private. The parental rights of the birth parents are terminated according to the law where the child resides, and the adoption is completed in the state of residence of the adopting parents.

The Compact Administrators in both states must approve the placement before the child is allowed to leave the state where born and enter the adopting parents’ home state. However, you should know that because Kansas has very favorable adoption laws, it is possible to finalize the adoption in Kansas once ICPC clearance has been given within one to 30 days from the date of the birth of the child.

Once you return home with your child, I will assist in obtaining a state issued birth certificate through the re-adoption or other administrative process. As of April 1, 2008, if your child is adopted from a Hague Country, you should be able to obtain a United States Hague Adoption Certificate without any further legal process in your home state. 

Re-adoption or domestication of a foreign guardianship or adoption involves a “re-adoption” process in the adoptive parents' home state when a family has a final adoption or guardianship from another country.  Depending on the type of visa with which the child enters the United States, this may or may not be necessary in order to complete the immigration process. The reasons to go through the re-adoption process include: changing the child's name if necessary, having state-specific documents (final adoption decree) that can be used if needed instead of a Foreign Decree (often only one provided), and to obtain a Certificate of Birth from your state for foreign born children. Many states have an administrative process to obtain the Certificate of Foreign Birth if a name change and additional documents are not needed.  It is important to note that a Certificate of Birth does NOT establish citizenship and the document itself will state that it is not proof of citizenship.

Getting started as a single parent is not any different than it is for a married or partnered couple with the exception that you may have to do more research and make more contacts than you would if you were two people working together. Once you have decided that you want to adopt a child, however, my team of professionals will assist you in putting all of the pieces together. Know that many thousands of children have been adopted by single men and women who have chosen to become adoptive parents.

For same-sex couples, it is often the case that there is only one legal parent even though two people may equally parent the child and think of themselves as co-parents. This is because the status as a legal parent is automatically conveyed to the parent who has a biological connection to a child. A second-parent adoption allows a second parent to adopt a child without the "first parent" losing any parental rights. In this way, the child comes to have two legal parents. It also typically grants adoptive parents the same rights as biological parents in custody and visitation matters.

When Second-Parent Adoption is Unavailable

Because second-parent adoption is unavailable in Kansas, I will assist you in preparing a written co-parenting agreement or a custody agreement with your partner. It is important to recognize that these steps, described below, are not guaranteed to secure your parental rights because courts are not required to uphold such agreements but, rather, consider the best interest of the child the primary concern. However, in February 2013, the Kansas Supreme Court issued a ruling protecting the rights of same-sex couples to both be recognized as the legal parents of the children they are raising together. The case involved two women, Marci Frazier and Kelly Goudschaal, who had been raising children together, but faced a custody dispute after separating. The Court ruled that the co-parenting contract the couple had signed was valid and should be recognized because their children are better off having two parents than just one.

I will help you prepare a co-parenting documentation file which will include:

• A Co-Parenting Agreement

• A Custody Agreement

Other evidence to prove you are a family:

• Domestic partnership registration

• Records of your shared planning for pregnancy and birth or adoption

• Health care proxies

• Powers of attorneys

• Reciprocal wills

• Co-parenting agreements

• Records of expenditures on the child's and the family's behalf

• Photos, letters, email and records of your involvement with the child's religious, cultural, day care, scholastic or extracurricular activities.

While the embryo adoption process involves many of the same steps as infant adoption — such as the matching process and adoption home study — there are some differences adoptive parents should take into account when deciding which form of adoption is right for them. The biggest difference between adopting an embryo and adopting an infant is the pregnancy experience. Parents who choose embryo adoption carry and deliver their adopted child themselves, whereas parents pursuing traditional domestic infant adoption rely on the baby’s birth mother to carry and deliver the baby before she relinquishes her parental rights. Because the adoptive mother carries the child, the adopting parents have legal rights and responsibility for the embryos prior to birth, eliminating the chance that the birth mother could change her mind and decide to parent her child.

In gestational surrogacy, the surrogate mother is not related to the child she carries. Instead, she becomes pregnant through an embryo transfer using the intended parents’ or donors’ genetic materials. This is one of the biggest differences between gestational surrogacy and adoption. In adoption, the birth mother is the biological mother of her child, which can have legal and emotional implications that aren’t applicable to surrogacy. Women facing unplanned pregnancies often have more complicated emotions to process and different factors to consider than surrogate mothers.

The surrogacy process also allows one or both intended parents to be the genetic parents of their child. This makes surrogacy a popular choice for prospective parents who feel strongly about maintaining a genetic link to their children. Having a biological connection to the child also simplifies the legal process and gives intended parents more control over the surrogacy process.

Adoption is considered "happy law" because the attorney is in a position to make a number of people happy. On occasion, however, things go wrong along the way in an adoption story and the parties find themselves before a judge.

When Birth Parents Change Their Minds

A biological mother or father may contest the adoption on the basis of one of the following factors:

The biological father may claim that he was never informed of the birth of the child and never had the opportunity to terminate or retain parental rights.

The biological mother or father may contest the jurisdiction of the court.

She or he may contest the validity of the consent document on technical grounds.

She or he may contend that consent to terminate parental rights was obtained under fraud or duress.

A biological parent may seek to derail an adoption in process in order to pursue placement of the child with another potential adoptive parent of his or her choosing.

I am well versed and experienced in adoption disputes and will represent clients in cases of adoption complications when birth parents reappear or seek to stop the finalization of an adoption at the last minute.

Representing Any Party in a Contested Adoption

No matter what type of contested adoption you are involved in, I can help. You may be a biological father opposing the proposed step-parent adoption of your child, a would-be adoptive mother or father, or a grandparent seeking guardianship or to assert rights to custody or visitation. I can also help if you are a foster parent seeking to formalize an already established parent-child relationship through adoption or if you are in need of counsel regarding paternity issues.