A new rule from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has some Americans leaving China and Ethiopia without the children they adopted there.
The new CDC protocol requires that internationally adopted children over the age of 2 be tested for tuberculosis in the country of origin before the U.S. can grant a visa. If they [...]
A Story County, Iowa Law Firm specializing in family law and criminal defense
Category Archives: Adoptions
New roadblock for some international adoptions
Adoption Saturday, November 21st in Ames
Story County will be one the sites in Iowa for the nationwide Adoption Saturday, this November 21st. Adoption hearings will be held at the Ames Municipal building, 515 Clark Avenue. This special event will run from 8:00 A.M. to 12:00 P.M. (Noon). I will be one of the lead attorneys handling most of the adoptions [...]
Open adoptions
An open adoption is where family members from the adoptive child’s former family maintain some kind of contact with the child. This contact can range from the adoptive child’s new parents sending pictures and a brief note to face to face contact between the child and the former family members.
Open adoption is not legally recognized [...]
Post adoption details
After the adoption hearing, the adoptive parents, now the parents of the child will receive a certified copy of the final decree of adoption. This can be used as a birth certificate until the new birth certificate arrives. In two (2) to six (6) weeks, a new birth certificate will arrive from the state where [...]
The step-parent and relative adoption process
The step parent and relative adoption process are essentially the same as the “traditional” adoption with two (2) major differences:
1. In a step parent adoption, the biological parent who is losing their parental rights, if that parent agrees and signs a written consent to the termination of their parental rights, the termination of parental rights [...]
The “traditional” adoption process
The following describes the adoption process for the traditional “stranger” adoption process; either done privately or with the assistance of the Iowa Department of Human Services. Step-parent and relative adoption is discussed elsewhere.
1. The preplacement home study is completed.
2. A suitable child is located
3. The parental rights are terminated and the appeals period has passed.
Steps [...]
Overview of the adoption process
As we go through this section, I refer to “parents” and “child”. This is only done for ease of usage. A single person can adopt. More than one child can be adopted at a time (my record is four (4) children adopted at once!). Parents can be one or both birth parents or one or [...]
Adoption Scam
‘Horrifying,’ Mom Says Of Seeing Son’s Photo In Online Adoption Scam
By Mark Memmott
Jenni Brennan of Abington, Mass., tells WCVB-TV in Boston that it was “horrifying” to see her son’s photo being used in an online adoption scam.
Seven-month-old Jacob was safe at home, but someone had lifted his photo from her blog and was sending it [...]