Ohio Adoption Attorney

Adoption Guidance

Many families dream of raising a child, but the traditional route of having a biological child may not be possible for everyone. Fortunately, adopting a child can provide families with an amazing opportunity to experience the joys of parenthood. Adoption is a great way for families to welcome a child that needs a loving and stable home. Even though there are many children available for adoption, legal guidance from an Ohio adoption attorney is a must.

Arthur Law Firm Co., L.P.A. navigates the legal side of the adoption process, and we understand you may have a lot of questions about the adoption process and the exciting possibility of adopting a child of your own.

Different Types of Adoption

There are different ways that you can adopt a child in Ohio. The process you choose depends on your needs, as well as your financial circumstances. The following are examples of different types of adoption you may consider:

• Foster Care Agency Adoption: Foster care adoption is the process of adopting a child from Ohio’s public foster care system who is in the permanent custody of a local job and family agency. If you choose this route, then you would work with a local job and family services as to children who are available for adoption.
• Adoption Agency Adoption: Agency adoption involves working with a licensed private agency in Ohio. This type of adoption is typically more expensive than foster care adoptions, but it can assist the adoptive family with matching them with birth mothers, and provides more support throughout the process of searching for a child.
• Kin Adoption: Frequently, grandparents and other family members are called upon to raise other family member’s children due to addiction, incarceration, or inability to provide a safe and stable home. What starts as a temporary placement or temporary legal custody, often turns into a family relative (“kin”) raising a child. Once a child has been integrated into a family member’s home, there may be reasons that the relationship needs to become more permanent. Adoption provides a solution to the worry that the family member may come back to take the child later or may never be available to care for the child ever.
• Step-Parent Adoption: Step-parent adoption is when a biological parent wants their spouse to adopt their child. Absent consent of the birth parent, there are limitations when Ohio law allows a step-parent to adopt, including contact with the birth parent and support by the birth parent whose rights will be terminated.
• Private Adoption: Private adoption is a type of adoption in which the adoptive parents and the birth mother find each other through various private means, typically friends, family, church, social media, or through an online website. Typically, the birth mother chooses the adoptive parents directly who will adopt the child.
• International Adoption: International adoption is the process of adopting a child from another country. Families who choose this path will need to go through foreign, state, and federal regulations before they can finalize the adoption. This process can be rather long in time and higher in costs due to travel and lengthy legal process. This process tends to be favored by birth parents who want anonymity and privacy in the adoption process.