Columbus Adoption Lawyers
Professional Adoption Support in Ohio
When hearing the word adoption, it is easy to think of babies from around the world finding a loving home with would-be parents in the United States. But adoption is much broader than this one definition, encompassing many scenarios and serving many important legal functions. Divorce and remarriage are now common, as are living situations in which non-parental relatives assume responsibility for kids. At its most basic, adoption confers legal familial status to parents and non-biological children. At Boller & Petty, LLC, adoption is an important aspect of our family law practice. Our skilled Columbus lawyers regularly help families seeking adoptions. We have years of experience and are committed to uniting as many families as we can through our resources and knowledge.
Reach out to Boller & Petty, LLC for a consultation if you’re looking to adopt at (614) 756-2827, or contact us online today.
Exploring Adoption: A Path to Family Unity
There are numerous reasons why someone might consider adoption. For most of us, "family" isn't just limited to those who share our DNA or our last name. Adoption allows us to give legal recognition to important, non-biological relationships.
Adoptions are typically sought for purposes of:
- • Recognizing and protecting child custody and visitation rights
- • Recognizing and protecting inheritance rights
- • Promoting unity and cohesion in blended families
- • Terminating the parental rights of biological parents who are no longer able or willing to care for their minor children
- • Conferring legal parental authority to non-parental family members who may already be taking care of minor children
- Providing health insurance coverage for the child
Understanding the Stepparent Adoption Journey
In the stepparent adoption process, the biological parent married to the stepparent retains their parental rights, but the other parent then loses their rights to and responsibility for their child. The stepparent is the individual who acquires these rights and responsibilities permanently, and once the process is complete, it can’t be nullified or revoked. Even if the biological parent and stepparent divorce, the stepparent will still be considered the children’s adopted parent.
Not only can our attorneys file the paperwork, but we can also represent you if the other biological parent contests the adoption. We can use our resources to gather the evidence needed to prevail. A judge may also terminate the biological parent’s rights if they’re shown to be unfit as a parent, such as through not maintaining contact with their child or failing to pay child support.
While stepparent adoption typically requires the consent of the biological parent whose rights are being severed, consent may not be required in certain cases, such as:
- If the parent has abandoned their child
- If the parent’s rights have already been terminated
- It’s in the best interests of the child that the relationship is terminated
Contact Our Columbus Adoption Attorneys Today
Our adoption attorneys can guide you through the process to make the adoption official. When you hire our team, we will take care of all the details so you don’t have to.
Make things official now. Call our Columbus adoption attorneys for high-quality legal counsel today at (614) 756-2827.