The law of adoption is intended to recognize and protect the interests of the three parties involved in every adoption: the birth parents, the adoptive parents and the child. At Robert H. Klima, PC, we provide adoption legal services to parents wishing to adopt and to birth mothers who are considering adoption. Attorney Robert H. Klima is one of Virginia's most prominent adoption lawyers and has handled more than 700 successful adoptions over his 30-year legal career. He is experienced in all types of adoptions, including:
- Stepparent adoption: The most common form of adoption occurs when a natural parent has remarried and would like the new spouse to adopt the child. If the absent parent has had little contact with the child and is willing to sign a consent agreement, then the process is relatively straightforward. Sometimes, however, the absent parent is either not willing to consent or cannot be found. In those situations, the court can grant an adoption without the consent of the birth parent if it makes a finding that the consent is being withheld contrary to the best interests of the child.
- Parental placement adoption: In Virginia, birth parents have the right to place their child with any family whom they choose. This right is subject to compliance with legal requirements intended to ensure that the adoptive family is suitable and that the placement is in the child's best interests.
- Agency adoption: In an agency adoption, birth parents entrust their child to a licensed Virginia child-placing agency that then chooses the family with whom the child will be placed. The agency will choose the family from a list of families, which they have counseled and deemed qualified.
- Interstate adoption: Adoptions often occur across state lines. If you have been contacted by a birth mother in a different state, it is necessary to receive the approval of both states before the child may be taken from the sending state to the receiving state.
- International adoption: In almost all international adoptions, the actual adoption occurs in the child's country of origin. The adoption process is handled by agencies specializing in foreign adoptions that have staff in that country.
- Foster parent adoption: Adopting foster children can be difficult. Most departments of social services have what is called a Foster to Adopt program. To qualify as adoptive parents of a child in the custody of the department, the parents must first be willing to take a child into the home as a foster child, without any assurance that the child will not be returned to the birth family. Contact Fairfax foster adoption attorney Robert H. Klima to learn more.
Contact a Virginia Adoption Attorney Today
At Robert H. Klima, PC, we provide adoption legal services throughout Northern and Central Virginia. For more information about how we can help and to learn about adoption financing, call 800-747-8783 to schedule a consultation to discuss your adoption options. You can also send us an e-mail.
