Adoptions in Virginia
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Providing Adoption Legal Services Throughout Northern and Central Virginia, including Prince William, Fauquier, Loudoun, Stafford, Warren, Frederick, Arlington and Fairfax Counties, and the Cities of Alexandria and Winchester.
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.
The laws and procedures that govern adoption can be complex. Adoptions are primarily governed by state law, and differ from state to state. Often a child is moved from one state into another. When this occurs, the laws of both states will be involved.
In most types of adoptions, a home study investigation must be conducted of the adoptive parents by a social worker with either the local Department of Social Services or a private agency. The purpose of the investigation is to ensure that the child is placed in a suitable home.
Attorney Robert H. Klima has more than 30 years of experience working with birth parents and adoptive parents in all kinds of adoption cases. He has handled more than 700 successful adoptions and has been a fellow of the American Academy of Adoption Attorneys since shortly after it was established in 1989.
There is a great deal of information about adoption on the Internet, some of which is misleading. Some is posted by facilitation services that are illegal in Virginia. Some information posted by agencies makes it appear as if they are located in Virginia, when in fact they are not.
Contact Robert Klima for straight answers to your questions about:
- Agency adoptions
- Parental placement adoptions
- Step Parent adoptions
- Interstate adoptions
- Contested adoptions
- Foster Parent Adoptions
Agency Adoptions
In an agency adoption, birth parents entrust their child to a licensed Virginia child-placing agency who 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.
Virginia has many highly qualified agencies. Some are associated with a particular religious denomination and have restrictions based upon their particular viewpoints. Others are secular in nature and have no such restrictions. The types of services offered may vary between agencies, as may the fees, which they charge for those services.
While agency adoption may be the best choice for many people, it is also a choice that other people reject in favor of parental placement adoption. Some adoptive families may choose not to go with an agency because it is generally more expensive than parental placement adoption, or because some agencies disqualify certain families for reasons such as age. Additionally, many adoptive families prefer to have the input and personal contact which is more closely associated with parental placement adoptions.
Many birth parents also choose not to place their child with an agency because they want to make the choice of adoptive parents themselves. In addition, they may have concerns with the fact that in an agency adoption, the child spends about one month in foster care before being placed with the adoptive family.
In recent years, many agencies have adjusted their procedures to address these concerns and now allow far greater choice and involvement by the parties than used to be the case. Agencies also offer counseling and guidance throughout the process by a licensed social worker.
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.
In this form of adoption, the birth parents and the adoptive parents are required to have a certain amount of contact with each other before the birth of the child, and to exchange certain information with each other. This contact is usually a satisfying experience for both. It gives the birth parents a level of confidence that they have done the right thing for the child. It also helps the adoptive parents to know more about the background of their child.
Sometimes, an agreement is reached by the parties that there will be some level of continuing contact with one another, after the adoption. This is what is commonly called “open adoption.” Recently enacted law in Virginia now makes it possible for such agreements to be made legally enforceable.
Because the placement is not being made by a licensed child-placing agency, a court hearing is required so that a judge may review the home study and make a finding that the placement is in the best interests of the child.
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, Virginia law allows a judge to 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. This involves a trial so that evidence may be presented upon which the judge will make this important decision.
International Adoptions
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.
There is a process to domesticate the adoption into a Virginia adoption, so that a Virginia birth certificate may then be obtained. This is commonly called "Readoption"
Virginia courts are authorized to grant an adoption even when the birth parents do not consent. This requires a trial, where evidence is presented to demonstrate that the adoption is in the best interests of the child.
Mr. Klima has tried dozens of these cases successfully, and is known for his extensive litigation experience.
Please read more about adoption options at these pages:
Call 800.747.8783 to schedule a consultation to discuss your adoption needs, or contact Mr. Klima by e-mail with a brief description of your circumstances.
