Sensitive Adoption Lawyer Helps Clients Grow Their Families
Experienced advocate handles domestic and international arrangements
Adoption is a joyous event for parents who seek to share their home with a child. However, legal and procedural obstacles can frustrate even the most patient people. And after the adoption is completed, legal challenges might still exist. Martin J. Rosen, P.C. is a seasoned adoption attorney in White Plains, NY who can give you the proficient advisement you need throughout the process and beyond to minimize the legal worries and keep you focused on the joys of parenthood.
What is adoption?
Adoption establishes a legal parental relationship between the adoptive parents and the child where one would not already exist. While laws on adoption differ from state to state, each state grants an adoption in consideration of the best interests of the child. The effect of legal adoption is that it also cuts the ties between the adopted child and the biological parents. The adoptive parents are expected to assume all of the responsibilities of parenthood, including support.
You may pursue adoption in a number of different ways, each with their own legal implications:
- Adoption by a relative – Grandparents, stepparents and other relatives may have an interest in adopting their child relative due the inability of the birth parents to take care of the child. Note that divorce does not end the adoptive parentage of a stepparent. Martin J. Rosen, a well-versed divorce lawyer, can help you understand the complex legal aspects of officially adopting your stepchild.
- Open adoption – This involves the birth parent and the adoptive parents connecting directly or through an intermediary to facilitate the adoption of the child. A knowledgeable adoption attorney can help you negotiate the legal formalities of the process of adoption from a non-relative.
- Agency adoption – This involves public agencies or private charities arranging for the adoption of children that are entrusted to them for adoption or were removed from their original parental home. The process involves many background checks and preliminary hurdles to overcome for the adoption to be considered suitable. Martin J. Rosen, an astute adoption lawyer, can help you manage the legal side of this lengthy process.
Note that adoptive parents remain parents even after divorce or in the midst of a separation. As a reputable attorney, Martin J. Rosen can advise as to the effects divorce could have on the parental relationship between you and your adopted child and the legal obligations that may be reflected in the divorce judgment.
Guardianship
Guardianship should not be confused with adoption, as it does not confer the same far-reaching parental rights. Rather, guardianship is a legally established limited relationship between the guardian and the child that involves serving in a caretaker role.
A variety of different types of guardian arrangements, from the temporary guardian to the long-term guardian, are envisioned in a parent’s will. Each type of arrangement has different legal implications. You should contact a knowledgeable guardianship attorney to help you draft the terms of guardianship or understand the obligations of guardianship as they may apply to you.
If you are a part of a joint guardianship, you may want to discuss with a lawyer how a separation or divorce may affect your obligations as guardian.
Contact a caring White Plains, NY adoption lawyer to handle your legal issues
Let attorney Martin J. Rosen handle the legal stresses of adoption and leave you with the blessings of parenthood. Call the firm at 914-517-0841 or contact the firm online. The law office of Martin J. Rosen, P.C. serves clients throughout Westchester, Rockland, Putnam, Orange, Dutchess and New York counties.