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. In this blog we will go over how the adoption process works and more information on family law.
Legal Process and Key Requirements of Adoption in Michigan
Adoption is a legal process that terminates the legal relationship between a child and its biological parents and creates 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.
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.
Conclusion
What if I do not want to adopt, but cannot have children of my own? Then you should consider surrogacy. There are two types of surrogacy to choose from:
Traditional surrogacy: The surrogate’s egg is fertilized with the prospective father’s sperm, making him and the surrogate the biological parents.
Gestational surrogacy: The egg of a woman other than the surrogate (usually the father’s wife) is fertilized and implanted in the surrogate’s womb. Depending on how biological parenthood is defined, all three parties might be considered biological parents.
Whichever surrogacy method you choose, there are some things you should know before arranging a surrogacy in Michigan. For starters, paid (commercial) Surrogacy is illegal in Michigan. Violation of that law carries penalties of up to $50,000 and/or up to 5 years in prison. Furthermore, the courts will not enforce any surrogacy contract. Even if the surrogacy is altruistic (uncompensated). It is also incredibly important to know that violation of the law against commercial surrogacy will most likely result in the participants losing custody of any child that results from that surrogacy. This is quite important because a surrogacy contract is about more than just getting some woman to carry the baby to term.
They also contain provisions giving custody to the parents who appointed the surrogate. This helps avoid messy disputes and reneging on the surrogacy. It might not seem like such a big deal considering that most surrogate children have zero genetic relation to the surrogate mother. However, a surrogate mother might still be able to apply for physical custody over the child. In which case the court will apply a “best interest of the child” analysis. Due in part to the uncertainty created by this system, the Michigan legislature is currently considering legislation that might reform surrogacy law.
For more information on adoption in the State of Michigan watch the videos below and check out the Goldman and Associates YouTube channel for more videos on everything relating to law in Michigan. Make sure to give our attorneys a call if you have any questions about custody in Michigan.
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