How do you know if you’re ready for adoption?

Before committing to an adoption, you should conduct some self-reflection. Answering the following questions may prove helpful in analyzing how ready you are for the process and what it entails:

• Do you have the financial resources needed to care for an adopted child? As you probably know, children can be expensive to care for. But an adopted child may have additional, and sometimes even unexpected, costs associated with providing them with adequate care. For example, you may learn that the child is genetically predisposed to certain physical or mental health conditions that require medication or other forms of medical treatment. Ask yourself and really calculate whether you’re ready to take on these costs.
• Are you ready for the challenges that you might face? Although we all like to think of the adoption process as being a happy process with storybook endings, which they can be at times, they usually have their own challenges that can be difficult to overcome. You may have to deal with issues with the child’s birth parents seeking access to the child, the child questioning where they come from and conflict when the child disagrees with you on any number of topics. Be realistic about what adopting a child may look like in your family and whether you’re ready to handle those challenges.
• Do you have proper support? As mentioned above, adopting a child isn’t always easy. Therefore, you may find it helpful to have support not only throughout the adoption process but also as you raise the child. If you don’t have adequate support, the process can be much more difficult. So, carefully think through whether you have the support that you need to make an adoption successful.
• Are you comfortable having tough conversations: You might have to have tough conversations with your adopted child and their birth parents. These talks might pertain to the child’s history or the birth parents’ access to the child. And these conversations may be ongoing. Consider whether you’re able and willing to have those tough talks in a way that is caring and supportive.
• Are you prepared for evaluations? In many instances, in order to be approved for adoption, you have to undergo home studies and other evaluations to ensure that you’re a fit individual to care for a child. These assessments may also determine if you and a certain child are a good match. But these can be pretty extensive evaluations, so you’ll want to be prepared to go through that if you want to successfully get through the adoption process.

Finding help navigating the adoption process

While you’ll certainly need informal support to help you get through the adoption process, you may also need legal guidance. An attorney who is experienced in this area of the law may be able to provide you with the insight and guidance that you need to make the decisions that are right for you and the child involved.

If you want to learn more about what the formal adoption process entails and how an attorney can help you, please think about reaching out to an attorney who is adept at handling these matters.

This week, let’s briefly look at that last piece: the birth parents’ consent. While there are a number of ways that you can negotiate or litigate over consent, one commonly utilized option is the post-adoption contact agreement.

What is a post-adoption contact agreement?

A post-adoption contact agreement is a written agreement where the adoptive parents agree to allow the child’s birth parent to have some form of contact with the child even after the adoption is finalized. The type of contact that is allowed under the agreement can vary depending on the circumstances, but it may include:

• Regular or periodic in-person visitation
• Phone calls
• Letters
• Cards
• Gifts
• Attendance at the child’s events
• Written updates to the biological parent
• Photographs that are sent to the biological parent

The breadth and frequency of contact can be negotiated amongst the parties so that an agreement is reached that is fair and in the child’s best interests. Keep in mind, though, that if an agreement cannot be reached for post-adoption contact, then there’s a stronger likelihood that you’ll have to litigate over the issue of the biological parent’s consent to the adoption. Offering a post-adoption contact agreement, then, is often a good way to secure a biological parent’s consent to the adoption.

Is a post-adoption contact agreement best for the child?

It depends on the circumstances at hand. If the child was abused by the biological parent and has suffered psychological harm as a result, then ongoing contact with that parent probably won’t be in the child’s best interests. However, there can be benefits to creating and adhering to a post-adoption contact agreement, including each of the following:

• The child has a better sense of their familial history, which may avoid lingering questions that pain the child later in life
• The child is wrapped with more support from the biological parent
• You, as the adoptive parent, may have better access to important information, such as family medical histories
• You can foster a positive relationship with the biological parent that furthers the child’s best interests

Keep in mind, too, that these post-adoption contact agreements can contain provisions with conditions that, once triggered, can end the agreement. Therefore, if a biological parent, say, fails to appear at multiple scheduled visits, then the entire agreement may cease. This helps ensure that you can protect the child’s well-being while holding the biological parent to the terms that were negotiated.

Competently navigate your adoption-related issues

There is a lot to take into consideration when adopting a child. Deciding whether to offer a post-adoption contact agreement is just one of the issues that you’ll have to think about.

We know that these matters can be confusing and stressful, and you certainly don’t want to make a mistake during the process that jeopardizes the viability of the adoption. That’s why experienced family law firms like ours are here to help. An attorney who is experienced in adoption law can help guide you throughout the process so that you can ensure that it plays out as smoothly as possible. That way, you can focus on what really matters: welcoming the child into your family.

How can unwed parents fight for their legal rights?

If you’re an unwed mother in the state of Georgia, you’re automatically granted full custody of your child. But if you’re an unwed father, the situation becomes a lot more complicated. You’ll have to take several steps before you have a legal claim over the child.

First off, you’ll have to prove paternity. If your name is already listed on the child’s birth certificate, you won’t have to do anything else. If not, you can take a genetic test to prove that you’re the child’s father. Keep in mind that you have to be biologically related to the child.

However, the battle doesn’t end there. You’ll also have to file for legitimation to gain legal rights. To do so, you can file a legitimation action in the mother’s county. If the court accepts this action, you will be ruled as the legitimate father of the child.

Now that you’ve established your parenthood, you can start fighting for your rights in court with the help of a family law attorney. You may be able to argue for full or joint custody as well as visitation rights.

How might an attorney help you establish parenthood?

An attorney may be able to help you establish your parenthood and start building a relationship with your child. Once you’ve established that you’re the child’s biological parent, your attorney may help you shoot for full or joint custody, whichever option is in the child’s best interests. If you’re not looking for custody, your attorney might help you argue for visitation rights that help you balance parenthood with your other responsibilities. Your attorney may also help settle other disputes like child support payments.

Talking about prenuptial agreements can be uncomfortable, but there are tactful ways to approach this conversation.

Take your time

Too often, people rush through the conversation and make the topic seem insignificant so that it is easier to talk about. However, a prenuptial agreement is a legal agreement with real stakes.

Thus, it would be best if you gave yourself time to have a thorough conversation. Don’t bring it up five minutes before you are heading out the door to dinner; don’t wait until a few days before your wedding. Instead, talk about it long before the wedding to give yourselves time to ask questions, consult your attorneys and discuss terms. You can also take time to explore the rules for prenuptial agreements in Georgia to help you prepare.

Be open and honest

Whether you are discussing your motivations behind a prenup or the property you wish to protect, being honest will be critical.

Deception can cause several problems when it comes to prenups. It can make the document invalid if it does is not accurate. It can also create conflict in your relationship when the other party finds out you have been less than honest.

Be flexible

While you may have your thoughts on what you want a prenup to include, you are not the only person that will be affected by its terms. Your partner may not agree with you on every condition or decision, so flexibility can be crucial in creating an agreement that reflects both people’s wishes.

Further, if your partner wants more time to think about things or is hesitant about a prenuptial agreement in the first place, being flexible can allow them room to explore their options and share their thoughts.

Call in the professionals

You need not have all the answers yourself, and you can get help in assessing your needs and circumstances. Because of this, calling in the professionals from the beginning can be helpful.

Each person should speak with an attorney before signing a prenup. You may also want to consult financial professionals to assess, value and explain the assets involved. With this type of support, you can secure a valid, effective agreement in place before you get married.

However, Georgia does recognize what are called separate maintenance actions. Unlike a divorce, a separate maintenance case leaves the marriage of the parties intact.

As such, the couple is not free to remarry. On the flip side, separate maintenance may not be available if either side has asked a court to end the marriage through a divorce. A person can file a separate maintenance action if the couple has agreed to live apart.

Otherwise, a person can request separate maintenance if their spouse has done something which the law would call misconduct, including something like adultery, domestic violence or certain other criminal activity.

Separate maintenance works a lot like divorce

In practice, a separate maintenance case will work a lot like a divorce. The court will divide up marital property and will split responsibility for the couple’s debts.

The court will also make any decisions that the couple cannot agree on regarding child custody, child support and parenting time. The court may also order one spouse to pay the other spouse some sort of alimony.

A separate maintenance action may interest a Georgia couple for a number of reasons. In some cases, a person may have moral or religious objections to divorce. In other cases, a couple may just not be ready to end their marriage or may feel like doing so is not best for their children. Finally, in some cases, a separate maintenance action may be to a couple’s financial advantage.

Those in the greater Atlanta area who are interested in pursuing a separate maintenance action may wish to go over their legal options. They may also want help preparing a separation agreement that will set out the couple’s rights and obligations.

Although stepparent adoption is a great choice for many families, there are complex legal procedures involved. Anyone considering a stepparent adoption needs to understand the process and get legal help to protect their rights and help them through the process.

What Are the Benefits of a Stepparent Adoption?

The primary reasons people seek out stepparent adoptions is for legal decision-making authority. Only those who are considered legal parents or guardians can make binding decisions for a minor. Decisions involving medical care, schooling choice and other major issues need to come from someone with legal authority. An adopted parent is granted that decision-making authority.

The other most common reason is more personal. As a second-marriage family grows into a new, loving family, it makes to have this reality reflected legally.

There are also other, more individual reasons for people to want a stepparent adoption.

What if the Other Birth Parent Does Not Consent?

The general rule is that the other parent needs to consent and that parent’s rights as a parent need to be terminated.

If the other parent does not consent, there is an option for involuntary termination of that parent’s rights. The courts are reluctant to grant this termination without strong proof of lack of involvement in the child’s life, neglect or other serious issues.

The most important thing you can do is talk with an experienced lawyer who has handled stepparent adoptions, termination of parental rights and other related issues.

Before the Change in Marriage Law

Every state had a different law regarding gay marriage before the Obergefell v. Hodges Supreme Court decision. Some states fully recognized same-sex marriage, while others would grant domestic partnerships or civil unions, while many banned same-sex marriage completely.

Sometimes this meant that destination weddings in a state that had legalized gay marriage were legal, but when the couple returned home, their marriage was not legally recognized at all.

Divorce was as easy to obtain for a gay couple in the legalized states as it was for a heterosexual couple, but in states where it was not legal, dissolving a union was nearly impossible.

What Couples Are Facing Now

Most states are now allowing gay and lesbian couples to divorce whether they married in that state or not, but at least one partner must have a residency in that state for a certain length of time. 

If you are a member of the LGBT community and are seeking divorce, you will have to deal with the same host of issues as opposite-sex couples, including child custody, property division and spousal support. However, these issues can be more complex for LGBT couples.

For example, parent-child relationships may not be legally recognized unless the non-biological parent legally adopted the child. Or, property division may be difficult to sort out if you were with your spouse for many years prior to being able to legally wed because property is considered marital, and subject to division, only when it was acquired during the marriage. Length of the marriage is also a factor that is considered when awarding spousal support.

For these reasons, it is important that people with LGBT family law concerns work with an attorney to help reach their desired outcome and avoid potential legal pitfalls.

While the rewarding aspect of adoption obviously comes from either starting or adding to a family, what about it’s challenging aspect? In other words, why are people so likely to view it as having been so demanding?

The simple answer is likely that the adoption process can sometimes prove to be rather lengthy and, more significantly, that the area of adoption law is exceedingly complex, such that the adoptive parents may have never felt entirely sure as to where they were in the process or what the law dictated.

In recognition of this reality, today’s post, the first in a series, will start providing some background information on adoption in the hopes of providing much-needed insight to those just about to start the process or those merely starting to consider it as an option.

Is there more than one type of adoption in Georgia?

As it turns out, Georgia legally recognizes six different types of adoptions, including:

• Private agency and public adoptions
• Stepparent adoptions
• Relative adoptions
• Third party adoptions
• Foreign adoptions
• Adult adoptions

Are there any basic eligibility requirements that I must satisfy in order to adopt?

A person must satisfy the following conditions in order to adopt a child in any capacity here in Georgia:

• They must be a minimum of 25 years old unless they are married and reside with their spouse.
• They must adopt with their spouse if married (unless they are a stepparent to the child to be adopted).
• They must be a minimum of ten years older than the child to be adopted.
• They must have lived in the state for a minimum of six months.
• They must have the physical and mental capacity, as well as the necessary resources to care for the child to be adopted.

We will continue this examination in future posts. Please consider speaking with a skilled legal professional if you have questions about adoption or are ready to start the process.

In recognition of this reality, today’s post, the first in a series, will spend some time providing some basic background information on the family court here in Fulton County, the primary forum in which most family law matters in this area of the state are resolved.

What exactly is the Family Division of the Superior Court of Fulton County?

As implied by the name, the jurisdiction of the Family Division extends to traditional family law matters like divorce, child custody, child support and visitation. However, it also handles non-divorce matters such as adoption, paternity, contempt, domestic violence, and parental rights termination, to name only a few.

When was it founded?

It may come as a surprise, but the Family Division was actually founded in the summer of 1998 as a pilot project and then went on to become a full-time program of the Superior Court after proving to be a resounding success. To date, it’s handled over 66,000 cases.

Who oversees matters in the Family Division?

At any given time, the Family Division is staffed by three Superior Court Judges, all of whom rotate in and out according to a set schedule. However, the Family Division is also staffed by Judicial Officers, meaning part-time magistrates designated as Family Division Judges to help supplement a frequently packed hearing schedule.

Do Judicial Officers have the necessary background to handle these cases?

Absolutely. Judicial Officers are licensed attorneys with the extensive experience and in-depth skill needed to handle family law/domestic law matters in a fair and impartial manner.

We will continue this discussion in future posts …

If you’ve arrived at the difficult decision to pursue a divorce, consider sitting down with a dedicated legal professional who can examine your situation and outline your options, including alternatives to traditional divorce.

According to the facts of the case, two women, identified as E.L. and V.L. in court documents, were longtime partners who had three children after E.L. underwent artificial insemination. In 2007, V.L., with the consent and full participation of E.L., successfully adopted the three children in Georgia.

The couple later moved back to Alabama and eventually ended their relationship. When E.L., the biological mother, refused to allow V.L. to see the three children, V.L. went to court to seek visitation rights.

After some back and forth, the Alabama Court of Civil Appeals ultimately granted V.L. visitation rights. However, the matter then came before the Alabama Supreme Court, which reversed the appellate court in a recent 7-1 decision.

Here, the court found that Alabama courts were not required to give legal recognition to the adoption, as the court in Georgia that originally granted the adoption failed to properly interpret and apply its own state’s law.

Specifically, it found that Georgia law declares that non-spouses cannot adopt absent a termination of the parental rights of a biological parent and there was no evidence to suggest that E.L. had relinquished her parental rights in any form.

As to whether it was reviewing the merits of the decision made by the court in Georgia, something expressly prohibited by the U.S. Constitution’s Full Faith and Credit Clause, the court reasoned that it wasn’t actually doing this as the Georgia court was not even permitted to grant the adoption in the first place.

“[T]he Georgia court was not empowered to enter the Georgia judgment declaring V.L. to be an adoptive parent of the children. … The Georgia judgment is accordingly void, and the full faith and credit clause does not require the courts of Alabama to recognize that judgment,” reads the opinion.

It remains to be seen what steps V.L. will take in the aftermath of this decision. However, it is worth noting that her attorney did not rule out the possibility of appealing to the Supreme Court of the United States.

Stay tuned for updates.