Legal Definitions - adoption

Adoption is when an adult becomes the legal guardian of a child and takes on the rights and responsibilities of a parent. This creates a legal relationship between the child and the guardian, and the child becomes the legal heir of the guardian. Adoption terminates any legal rights that the child's natural parents had.

There are two types of adoptions: open and closed. In an open adoption, the birth mother selects the adoptive parents and may maintain visitation and contact rights. In a closed adoption, the birth mother relinquishes all rights over the child, and a state administrative agency conducts the selection process.

Parents looking to adopt can choose to adopt through an agency or through independent contact with the biological parents. Public and private agencies exist to facilitate adoptions, and states run public agencies. The suitability of parents looking to adopt is determined through a stringent test, and the court must make an official finding that the individual is "acceptably suitable" to become an adoptive parent.

An individual wishing to adopt must petition the court and present evidence that they have satisfied the necessary statutory elements. The state adoption agency presents its report of the petitioners to the court and makes a recommendation. The petitioner bears the burden of proving that adoption is in the child's best interests.

Examples of federal material related to adoption include the Indian Child Welfare Act, the Adoption Assistance and Child Welfare Act of 1980, and the Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment and Adoption Reform Act. State material includes state adoption laws and judicial decisions.

Overall, adoption is a legal process that creates a new parent-child relationship and terminates any legal rights of the child's natural parents.