What is the Process for Adopting a Child in TX?

The three major kinds of adoption in Texas involve different legal rules.

The process for adopting a child in Texas varies according to the type of adoption, as outlined below. Furthermore, each county has local rules. Each court in each county has local rules as well, and many of these rules are unwritten. Adopting parties are responsible for knowing all these rules, and most judges are very impatient with lawyers or non-lawyers who don’t know their stuff.

The varying processes underscore the need for an experienced Fort Worth family law attorney to handle adoption matters, no matter how straightforward they may seem. At best, failure to adhere to the process creates a frustrating delay. At worst, a biological parent could use this failure to undo an adoption later, creating an emotional nightmare for the adoptive parents as well as the adopted child.

Agency Adoption

The judicial process for agency adoptions usually includes filing and serving legal paperwork, a social worker home study, and a final hearing.

The paperwork in an adoption is very tricky. Both biological parents must voluntarily terminate their parental rights. Generally, parents cannot terminate their rights to unborn children, and after the child is born, a waiting period usually applies. So, if the termination is done at the wrong time, that mistake derails the entire process.

Most adoption agencies have their own Fort Worth family law attorneys who handle the entire legal process. For this reason, many adopting families believe they do not need their own lawyers.

It is true that adoption agency lawyers are usually very experienced attorneys who know the rules inside and out and do a very good job. However, families must remember that agency lawyers represent agencies, not individuals. Agency adoptions are complex, and at least one snafu is almost inevitable. In these cases, families need lawyers who advocate for them, not agencies.

Private Adoption

These adoptions, which were almost unheard of a generation ago, are now almost as common as agency adoptions in Tarrant County.

We mentioned the rigid rules that apply in agency adoptions. These rules are just the beginning for private adoptions. The adoption stipend (amount of money an adopting family can pay to support a biological mother during pregnancy) is a good example.

Unlike other states, Texas does not specify a maximum support amount. That lack of designation may seem like good news, but it’s actually bad news. In set-stipend states, adopting families must only stay below the financial line. But in Texas, they must prove all money they spend was limited to allowable expenses, such as living expenses (rent, utilities, food), medical bills related to the pregnancy, and legal fees.

These categories are difficult to define. If Molly takes an expensive drug to manage her weight while she’s pregnant, that drug may or may not be an allowable expense.

Stepparent Adoption

We close this blog with perhaps the most straightforward adoption procedure in Texas. Most judges waive the home study requirement for stepparent adoptions, meaning that the termination of parental rights is the only major requirement.

Voluntary termination of parental rights is usually in the child’s best interests if another adult is ready to assume parenting responsibilities. Additionally, abandoning the child, which applies in most of these cases, is grounds for involuntary termination of parental rights.

Incidentally, if a biological parent refuses to voluntarily terminate parental rights, and involuntary termination isn’t available, a name change petition may be a good idea. A name change doesn’t alter legal status, but it does give everyone who lives under the same roof the same last name.

Count on a Diligent Tarrant County Attorney

The legal adoption process varies in Texas. For a confidential consultation with an experienced family law attorney in Fort Worth, contact the Law Office of Kyle Whitaker. Virtual, after-hours, and home visits are available.