Houston Family Law eNewsletter

Adoption laws are statutory state laws that oversee the formal process of one parent taking legal custody of a child. When a child becomes legally adopted, the adoptive parent becomes responsible for all aspects of that child’s life, including school, health and overall general welfare. An adopted child and adopted parent relationship is legally the same as a biological child and biological parent relationship once it is authorized through legal documents as outlined in individual state rules.

In addition, an adoptive child has rights to the adoptive parent’s estate once the parent dies without a will. Once a child is legally adopted, the child then has no legal rights to his or her biological parents’ estate.

A child does not necessarily have to be a minor in order to be adopted. This rule varies from state to state. But in many cases an adult may legally adopt someone who is years younger. Typically this would happen when the older person wants to avoid an estate transfer tax when he or she dies to legally transfer the majority of his or her estate to the younger person.

Adoption Agencies

Adoption agencies are organizations that work with the state government to arrange families and adoptions. A parent who wants to adopt a child does not legally have to work with an adoption agency to formally adopt a child. The only necessity is a legal proceeding in a family court. Adoption agencies can and do help with court proceedings to help with adoptions. Family law attorneys, physicians and others have been known to help would-be parents with the adoption process.

It is common for private adoptions to occur when the biological parents live in one state and the adoptive parents live elsewhere. These adoptions are typically managed by qualified family law lawyers and with the help of adoption support groups.

DiGirolamo Case

One case of a successful adoption is the 2008 case of Michael DiGirolamo, a two-year-old boy, whose father is accused of abandoning him outside a Delaware hospital. DiGirolamo’s father is also criminally charged with killing the boy’s mother.

A relative of DiGirolamo’s father is adopting the little boy in a case in which a suitable blood relative will take custody. The cousin of DiGirolamo’s father bonded with the boy for at least a month to see if an adoption would be possible and a good fit. He worked with a family law attorney, and the courts in Delaware ruled that the boy and his father’s cousin would be a successful family.

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