Family Law – (248) 588-3333 – Adoption
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Adoption
Sometimes an individual or couple wants to raise a child without conceiving one of their own, and sometimes there are children who are no longer in the care of their birth parents. Adoption can help bring these people together to form loving makeshift families that can be just as close as biological ones.
What is adoption?
Adoption is a legal process which terminates the legal relationship between a child and its biological parents and creating a new relationship with adoptive parents. The adopted child’s birth certificate will be altered to show the adoptive parents as the child’s true mother and father. There are statutes in Michigan which govern this process. An unmarried person or a married couple can adopt either a minor or an adult. However, an unmarried couple cannot adopt as a couple, only one of them would be the adoptive parent.
Where should I file the adoption petition?
Michigan law requires the petition to be filed either at the location of the petitioner (you) or the child being adopted. If both live outside of Michigan, then it is filed at the location where the child’s biological parents had their rights terminated.
Do you need the permission of the biological parents to adopt the child?
Usually, you do. If the natural parents still have their parental rights, then there consent is needed. If the father is not married to the mother, his consent might not be required. However, if the state has already terminated parental rights, then permission is unnecessary.
Also, the court might waive the consent requirement if the biological parents are being unreasonable with their denial of consent and are not acting in the best interests of the child. Even if consent is waived, the biological parent still has a right to notice and a hearing about the adoption.
Also, the permission of an unmarried biological parent might still be required under certain circumstances. This hinges on the father’s level of involvement in the child’s life. Does he live with the child? Does he care for it? Does he visit the child regularly? Has he admitted paternity and/or paid child support? If the child is an infant, the court will look for “manifestations of parental responsibility”. In the absence of these things, the non-marital father has no right to prior notice before his child is adopted.
Do you need a child’s permission before you adopt them?
Only if the child is older than 14 years of age, otherwise, no consent is needed.
Will the state/court do anything to investigate the home of someone adopting a child?
Yes, a full investigation and approval by the court of the adoptive home is mandatory. The courts take the safety of all children in their care very seriously.
Can I pay the birth parents to choose me as the adoptive parent?
Absolutely not. Other than pregnancy related medical costs, you are forbidden by law to pay money to the birth parents. Most states try to avoid running the risk of developing a market for adopting kids.
What happens if someone violates one of the statutes regulating adoption?
Breaking adoption statutes is usually a crime. The first violation is a misdemeanor. The second is a felony.
What happens if the adoption is successful?
A new birth certificate will be issued. The new certificate will list the adoptive parents as the mother and father. This completely severs any right, claim, or obligation the birth parents had with the child and transfers them to the adoptive parents. Sometimes a birth parent will terminate their own parental rights so that they can jointly adopt their child with their new spouse.
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