As a St. Louis adoption attorney, my law firm handles many adoptions each year. Adoption is the process when a person legally becomes the parent of a child that was not biologically born to him or her. In Missouri, an adoption must be processed through
The Court system. The process can take anywhere from 30 days to one year, but will generally take between 6 months and 8 months.
When the adoption is complete, the rights and responsibilities of parenthood pass from the child’s biological parent or parents to a new parent or set of parents, along with the joys that come along with parenthood. And the child’s situation is transformed as it blends with the new family. That’s an exciting and monumental change.
Getting State Id Is Not Easy For Everyone, And Effects Of Missouri Adoption Law Changes
Agency adoptions occur when an adoptive parent engages an agency to help facilitate the adoption. These agencies can take many forms these days, as some are primarily match services and some are more involved in the whole process. The important question to ask if you decide to work with an agency is whether the agency is licensed in good standing. You should ask detailed questions about what their involvement will be and what
Stepparent adoptions are the most common type we see at our firm. A stepparent adoption happens when a spouse decides to formally adopt a partner’s children from an earlier marriage or relationship. It is not uncommon that the child has already been living with a stepparent for many years and may already view them as a parent. These adoptions also tend to be resolved on a bit quicker timeline. We will discuss that more later.
Similarly to stepparent adoptions, grandparent adoptions keep the child within the blood family. However, grandparent adoptions are also different because both biological parents will be replaced as the legal parents, whereas stepparent adoptions keep one of the biological parents as a legal parent. We commonly see these adoptions when a biological parent has not been involved with a child and a grandparent has taken over raising a child.
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An independent placement adoption is an adoption where the parties found each other outside of the use of an agency or a third party intermediary such as the foster care system. These adoptions can be very technical, so you want to make sure the appropriate paperwork is in place prior to changing custody.
In essence, an independent placement adoption has little to no oversight until the case is filed. There is no agency involved and the State is not involved. This is why the Courts look at these adoptions a little more closely to make sure the rules were followed prior to filing. If you are moving forward with an independent placement adoption, then speak with an attorney now. Make sure and follow the rules before anything is messed up.
Yes, adoptions also are classified by where they are taking place and how many states or countries are involved in the process. All adoptions will fall into one of the following categories:
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Intrastate adoption would be your average adoption where everyone lives in the same area. The adoption is started in the State where the parties live. The adoption is finalized in the State where the parties live. And no one is crossing state lines or international borders in order to process the adoption.
Interstate adoptions can be agency adoptions or independent placement adoptions. When an adoption qualifies as interstate it means that the child will be crossing state lines to reside in a different state upon completion of the adoption. The rules on these adoptions tend to be strict as you will not only have to comply with the Court rules but also the Interstate Compact for the Placement of Children Office (ICPC) in both the sending state and the receiving state. Very few attorneys know how to handle these cases. Find one that does.
International adoptions involve a couple adopting a child that was born in and currently resides in another country. These adoptions are complicated as they not only involve adoption law, but they also involve immigration law due to crossing borders with a child and citizenship issues.
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On a more local level, you will also need to determine what county circuit court to file the case in. In Missouri, you can file the case in the county in which:
This obviously provides a lot of options for the venue of the case so choose wisely. Also be aware of the preferences of the local judges. Some judges do not allow venue based on the location of the child at the time of filing, as that factor can obviously be manipulated a bit. This can also be an advantage in counties that accept where the child is located as a venue option, particularly in interstate cases when an adoptive family is staying in a hotel.
Adoptions have either one or two overarching paths that you must go down. The details of your case will determine your path.
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A one-step adoption is an adoption where one or both of the parties looking to adoption already legally have custody of the child. One scenario where this occurs is a stepparent adoption since the biological parent married to the stepparent obviously is already on the birth certificate and naturally has custody of their own child. Another scenario would be grandparents that previously were granted guardianship through the Court for their grandchild and now want to adopt.
A two-step adoption is necessary when the adoptive parents don’t have legal custody yet. The first step would be a transfer of custody portion of the case, which happens up front. And in Missouri, the second step, finalization, cannot occur until six months after the transfer of custody occurs.
The Petition is the backbone of your pleadings. The Petition formally requests the adoption and also includes any other facts and allegations that are necessary for the adoption to be granted. Depending on the type of adoption, there will be specific requirements to be met. For example, in a stepparent adoption, you will need to state the date the natural parent and stepparent were married.
Adoption Attorneys And Law Firms Vs. Agencies: What To Know
Sometimes the birth certificate is not available right away. If that is the case, then you can generally request the Court allow you to file it later in the case.
No, once the case has been filed with the Court, there are other steps that must be taken care of as well to have your adoption approved by the Judge. These include:
A Guardian ad Litem is a third party attorney that represents the child in the case. The Guardian is required to be appointed in all adoptions under Missouri law. A Guardian will generally meet with the adoptive parents, meet with the child if old enough, investigate any problems or issues, and make a recommendation to the Court at the finalization hearing.
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A Guardian will also be involved if either of the natural parents is under the age of 18. This is required in Missouri so that the natural parent is aware of the rights they have.
Some Courts also have the Guardians complete the home study to reduce the cost of adoptions. For example, in St. Louis County the Guardians can complete the home study in stepparent adoptions. A licensed social worker must complete the home study in non-stepparent adoptions in St. Louis County. Other counties have different rules. Some counties, such as St. Charles, even waive the home study in certain scenarios.
If a home study is going to be required by someone other than the GAL, then you will generally be allowed to choose the social worker or agency to complete the study. The main portion of the study will be done up front around the time of filing and then there will be follow up interactions with the worker. If you are in the middle of a two-step adoption, then the social worker will technically be “supervising” the adoption.
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Pick a good social worker or agency. If you choose to work with a St. Louis adoption attorney, they should be able to connect you to the right social worker. These people are generally very nice and can be extremely helpful to your case. A good adoption social worker that has been handling adoptions for a while may catch things your attorney does not.
The background checks are initiated by your attorney or by your social worker depending on the type of case you have. At the very least, you will need the Missouri State Highway Patrol background checks and the Missouri Child Abuse and Neglect check (CAN). Some social workers will even do an FBI background check to make sure the Court has a thorough record.
If something turns up on the background check, then it does not necessarily make the adoption impossible. It really depends on the nature of the crime. A felony charge/conviction does not mean you cannot adoption. Writing a bad check twenty years ago will probably not be held against you by the Judge. However, a prior felony conviction for child abuse will likely keep you from adopting.
Mary Beck Law
In an adoption case, the Court is really just looking at
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