Prospective parents require the services of an adoption attorney in Oklahoma City, OK to navigate through all the legal red tape. Adoption is a complex process in which an individual or couple take on the full parental rights and responsibilities of a child. They accept the legal role as the parent in all aspects related to raising, supporting, and loving the child. After the finalization of this process, the child is issued a new birth certificate that shows the adoptive individual or couple as their parent and his or her last name is changed. When an infant is adopted, the parent or parents can change their full name to match their preferences.
Adoption Requirements in Oklahoma County
The primary requirement for adoption is termination of parental rights for either or both biological parents. Exceptions to the rule are instances where the birth parents are deceased or the county has already eliminated these rights based on Oklahoma Statute 10A O.S. 1-4-094. The termination order or death certificate is required prior to the adoption hearing.
Married couples who wish to adopt are both required to participate in the process. Both parents are shown on the new birth certificate. They are equally obligated to become a legal parent, and all that this right entails. A six-month waiting period is required for a home-study for non-relative adoptive parents. It is initiated to establish whether adoption by the prospective parent or parents is in the child’s best interests.
Any case in which one biological parent is married, he or she provides legal consent for the step-parent to adopt their child. In relative-based adoptions, the waiting period and home study are waived by the court. Step-parents cannot adopt the child, unless he or she is married to the biological parent for no less than one year.
The adoption can take place in the county in which the child currently resides. Most counties do not restrict an adoption to the resident county of the prospective parents. However, an adoption attorney in Oklahoma City, OK may indicate that it is more practical for the proceedings to occur within the county in which the child will live after adoption. Anyone who wishes to review more rules and laws associated with adoption in Oklahoma County may contact Erbar Maria Tully.
