Adoption and Divorce

Adoption and Divorce

Will divorce affect your rights as an adoptive parent?  That depends.

Generally, you have the same rights to your children, whether biological or adopted.

Stepparent Adoption

If you have legally adopted your stepchild, you are the child’s legal parent.  You would have custody rights.  You would have support obligations.

Foster Care Adoption

In a foster care adoption, once the adoption is finalized, the biological parents’ rights are terminated. The foster parents become the legal parents of the child.  Child custody and visitation would be awarded pursuant to the “best interests of the child“, as in any custody case.  Same with child support.

Private Adoptions

In private or independent adoptions, the birth parents place their child for adoption by the adoptive parents.  Upon adoption finalization, the adoptive parents become the legal parents.

If the adoptive parents later divorce, custody and support would go according to law as if they were the biological parents.

What if Adoption Hasn’t Been Finalized?

If you file for divorce prior to the adoption being finalized, the outcome of the above scenarios may be different.  For example, in a private adoption, one of the terms of the adoption could be a two-parent home.  If the adoption hasn’t been finalized, the birth parents may revoke their consent based on the breach of the terms.

Adoption and divorce are both complicated topics to be discussed with an experienced attorney.