Interstate Adoptions

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Providing Adoption Legal Services Throughout Virginia, including Prince William, Fauquier, Loudoun, Stafford, Warren, Frederick, Arlington and Fairfax Counties, and the Cities of Alexandria and Winchester.

Virginia Interstate Adoption Lawyer

The Interstate Compact on the Placement of Children (ICPC) is a law passed by all fifty states, which regulates many situations in which children come from one state to another, including adoption. It is intended to protect the welfare of children and each state has an ICPC office. The officials in the ICPC office of each state have developed different requirements. For this reason, it is important to have qualified adoption counsel in both states who know how to get the ICPC offices what they require promptly. The adoptive parents will usually have to remain in the sending state until approval is received from both states. This can take a week if everything is done correctly, and much longer if it is not. The Interstate Compact does not apply to close family placements. interstate page

Serving the Adoption Needs of Families Throughout Virginia

Attorney Robert H. Klima is one of the leading adoption attorneys handling interstate adoptions for residents of Virginia. As a fellow of the American Academy of Adoption Attorneys, Mr. Klima has helped to draft many of Virginia’s adoption laws. Since beginning practice in 1978, Mr. Klima has successfully handled over 700 adoptions.

Call 866.364.9620 to schedule a consultation to discuss your interstate adoption needs, or contact Mr. Klima by e-mail.

Interstate Adoption Allows Families to Adopt Children From Anywhere in the United States

Some helpful adoption definitions:

Open adoption: The term open adoption is poorly defined. It means that there is some continuing contact between birth parents and adoptive patents after the adoption has been completed. This can vary from sending photos and information once a year to actual visits. In Virginia, it is not possible to make these arrangements legally enforceable, although it is possible in many other states.
Closed adoption: This means that the birth parents and the adoptive parents do not know who each other are. This is not possible in parental placement adoptions, where some exchange of identifying information is required. It is still possible in agency placements. There are limitations, which can be placed on the type of information exchanged.
Parental placement adoption: In Virginia, birth parents may place their child with adoptive parents, which they have themselves chosen.
Agency adoption: Birth parents may entrust their child to a licensed Virginia child placing agency authorized to choose the adoptive family.
Step Parent adoption: It is common for a custodial parent to want his or her new spouse to adopt their child. When the absent birth parent has had little or no involvement in the child’s life, this may be in the best interests of the child. If the absent birth parent consents to the adoption, then this may be a relatively simple process. If consent cannot be obtained, step parent adoptions can still be accomplished.

Please read more about adoption options at these pages:

If you are involved in an adoption across state lines, you don’t have to try to figure things out for yourself. The laws can be difficult and confusing.

For more information about how Mr. Klima can help, call 866.364.9620 to schedule a consultation to discuss your adoption needs, or contact Mr. Klima by e-mail.