Adoptions and Contested Adoptions
Adoptions
Adoption is a legal process that creates a new, permanent parent-child relationship for an adult and child that did not legally exist beforehand. Adoption proceedings take place in court before a Judge. The first step to be taken to legalize an adoption is that a petition is filed and the biological parents have either voluntarily or by a court order relinquished their parental rights to the child. The judge may then review all supporting information about the adopting family, and may ask questions of all parties, including the children. The judge may then approve or disapprove the petition to adoption. When an adoption is finalized, the adoptive parents gain the same rights and responsibilities as they would from a child born to them.
For international adoption, U.S. federal law, state law, and law and/or regulations for the foreign country would be applied.
Step-Parent Adoption
This is the most common type of adoption. A Step-parent adoption most often occurs when a divorced parent remarries, and their new spouse wishes to assume parental responsibility for a child from a previous marriage or relationship through adoption. In most cases, the non-custodial parent must give permission to relinquish his or her parental rights of the child. However there are exceptions, and consent is not always necessary.
Visitation Rights for Grandparents
In Indiana, grandparents may obtain visitation with their grandchildren. A judge decides whether it is in the best interest of the child to allow visitation. A child's maternal grandparent may seek visitation rights, regardless of whether the child's paternity is established, if the child's mother or father is deceased, if the child's parents were divorced in Indiana, or if the child was born out of wedlock. Grandparent's visitation rights survive the adoption of a child by a stepparent or by the child's biological grandparent, sibling, aunt, uncle, niece or nephew. They may also survive the establishment of paternity of a child in any case other than an adoption proceeding.
Contested Adoption
An adoption can only be contested by an individual entitled to notice of the adoption, usually a biological parent. A parent may contest an adoption for several reasons, but usually it is because the parent does not wish to give up their parental rights of the child.
Meet with an Indianapolis Adoption Attorney Today
Contact or call 317.348.6723 to schedule an appointment with an Indianapolis adoption attorney at Hollingsworth & Zivitz, PC to get more information on adoption and visitation. Hollingsworth & Zivitz, PC serves clients in the greater Indianapolis area including Carmel, Fishers, Westfield, Noblesville, and Hamilton County, as well as Zionsville, Avon, Brownsburg, and the counties surrounding Marion County.
