Drafting the Petitions
Your attorney will draft a package of documents that set the stage for the adoption to be granted. Two petitions are at the core of these documents: the Petition for Termination of Parental Rights and the Petition for Adoption. Various supporting documentation is filed with the petitions as well, and you will need to file the child’s birth certificate with the petitions. If the child is related to the individuals seeking to adopt, both petitions can be filed at the same time. If the child is unrelated to the petitioners, the Petition for Termination of Parental Rights must be filed and resolved first, and the Petition for Adoption can be filed if the parents rights are in fact terminated.
The Petition for Termination of Parental Rights sets for the legal basis to extinguish any claim the birth parents have to the child. Notably, a termination of parental rights also extinguishes any obligation the parents have to pay child support, if granted. This petition should assert that the petitioners are filing the petition in the proper jurisdiction, that the petition is being filed for the purposes of adoption, that the parents rights are subject to termination (due to written or implied consent), and that the petitioners offer an appropriate adoption placement for the child. If granted at a court hearing, the birth parents will no longer be able to claim any right to custody, visitation or parental decision-making authority.
The Petition for Adoption focuses on establishing new parental relationships between the child and the individuals seeking to adopt the child. If granted, the petitioners will become the child’s legal parents, with all rights to the child, including custody and decision-making authority.