Adoption is defined as legally taking another’s child and bringing it up as one’s own. The adoption process for many can be very exciting and the start of a new adventure of growing their own family. For others it may be out of obligation. Regardless of your reasons for adopting, it can still be a long process and many folks don’t realize the process that goes into adopting. Starting with there are many different types of adoptions.
Everyone has heard of couples adopting an infant through a private agency. But the other common adoptions are state and court ward adoptions, relative adoptions, stepparent adoptions, and adult adoptions. State or court ward adoptions occurs when a child’s parents lose their parental rights by the family court and are placed under the care and supervision of the state through the Michigan Department of Heath and Human Services (DHS). DHS is responsible for finding both short-term (foster care) and long term (adoption) placement. Relative adoptions can occur when a family member has guardianship over the minor child, if the parent (s) are deceased or incarcerated for long period of time, or if the parent (s) consent to the adoption. Stepparent adoptions are exactly what it sounds like, a stepparent is wanting to adopt their stepchild for whatever the applicable reason maybe. Adult adoptions are when anyone over the age of 18 years old get adopted. This can be by a stepparent, family member, or other party for various reasons. Under Michigan adoption laws, anyone can be adopted but children 14 years and older may not be adopted unless they give their own consent.
Regardless of the type of adoption or whether you go through an agency, everyone still needs to follow the same steps and go through the family court in the county they (adoptive parent (s)) reside in or in the county that the child (adoptee) resides. If you’re not working with a private agency that specializes in adoption, then we highly recommend hiring our firm as Family law attorney grand rapids mi. When you hire an experienced firm, such as our own, we will be able to walk through and do the following steps.
- Step one in the process is to file a petition for adoption with the applicable county and set an initial hearing date if applicable.
- Step two is an investigation is done by the Court where you filed. This includes in some cases an in-home assessment.
- Step three is once the investigation is approved and if the Court doesn’t find any red flags, the court can enter an order for adoption. This can take several months and to get the order entered you can typically handle it two ways; either a) go to court in front of the Judge and have it entered (this is more of a ceremonial option) or b) submit the order to the court and the adoption order will come in the mail. Once you receive the order of adoption, the process of adoption is complete.
The steps above make it seem very streamlined and it can be however, the process itself can still be very tedious and there is paperwork to be filed and a lot of waiting time. Depending on where the biological parents stand on the adopting this process can take months or even years. It is best to hire a qualified attorney to help you through the process. As Family lawyers grand rapids mi, we strive to help families to get to the finish line and love celebrating in the completion of the adoption process.
Please call the Law Offices of Sean Patrick Cox, P.L.L.C. in Grand Rapids, Michigan at 616-942-6404, to set up a free consultation.
An associate attorney at the Law Office of Sean Patrick Cox.
