MORE ABOUT DOMESTIC ADOPTION
An adoption that occurs completely within the United States is called a "domestic adoption." For over 25 years, the Kalish Law Office in The Woodlands, Texas has been providing services to clients who are expanding their families through adoption.
Attorney Bob Kalish, who founded the firm in 1984, is an adoptive parent himself. The Kalish Law Office prides itself on its long history of counseling thousands of clients who are considering or seeking adoption.
AGENCY ADOPTION OR PRIVATE ADOPTION
Whether the domestic adoption involves an adoption agency or is a "private" adoption, the adoption attorneys at the Kalish Law Office are familiar with the various laws and requirements necessary to filing and completing an adoption.
INTERSTATE ADOPTION
If the adoption involves more than one state, there are additional laws and regulations which apply. The attorneys at the Kalish Law Office can help you with your interstate adoption, and follow it through to completion.
FAMILY ADOPTIONS; STEPPARENT ADOPTIONS
In many adoptions, the potential adoptive parents and the child are already related to each other, legally or by blood. Inter-family adoptions are common and include adoption by stepparents, adoption by grandparents, and adoption by aunts, uncle, cousins or more distant relatives. The requirements to adopt a child in Texas are determined by Texas family law.
Even if a child is adopted by his or her relatives, there are still certain requirements that must be met, such as a home study, criminal background check of the adoptive parents and other persons living in the home, and appointment of an amicus attorney who will represent the child in the adoption proceedings.
Stepparent adoptions are treated a bit differently, and all of the above requirements may not be necessary, depending on the situation. But in all cases, the adoptive parents must show that they can care for the child financially and emotionally and that the adoption is in the best interest of the child.
ADDITIONAL LEGAL REQUIREMENTS
In Texas, when two people are married to each other at the time an adoption is sought, both spouses must adopt the child.
In order for an adoption to happen, the child must be available to be adopted. That means that there must be a termination of the parental rights of the biological parents prior to, or at the time of, the final adoption hearing in court.
The attorneys at the Kalish Law Office in The Woodlands, Texas are skilled in dealing with a variety of situations regarding termination of parental rights and adoption. Adoption attorneys Laura Kalish and Sio Ramirez Pitre are familiar with the laws and regulations relating to adoption and termination of parental rights, and can help you deal with an absent or unknown biological parent. The attorneys at the Kalish Law Office will meet with you to explain all of your options and give you an overview of the adoption process.
Contact us
If you have questions about issues relating to child support contact a firm that has helped thousands of families. We speak Spanish and are available for evening appointments. Our office is conveniently reached via I-45 near The Woodlands Mall. Send us an email, or call us at 281-363-3700
