Problems to Consider When Choosing to Adopt

There are close to 135,000 adoptions each year in the U.S. Many of these cases go through a lengthy process that involves numerous steps. By understanding all of the potential hurdles, a parent can make sure that every stage of a legal adoption goes according to plan.

Adoption Basics

An adoption occurs when a biological parent passes his or her legal rights and obligations to a new adoptive guardian or guardians. Of course, there’s a lot that goes into obtaining parental rights. There are many different ways to go about adopting a child in New Jersey. Some of the most common options include the following:

• Adopting through an agency
• Adopting as a step parent
• Adopting directly through the birth parents
• Adopting as a relative

Potential Legal and Financial Issues

No matter which type of adoption a family goes through, the legal challenges can be numerous and difficult. For instance, it’s possible that one of the birth parents may not be aware of the adoption. This can bring about an array of legal hassles if the biological parent has yet to relinquish their rights to the child in question.

There are also a variety of legal problems that can occur with an inter-country adoption. These typically relate to specific adoption laws of the child’s home country. In order to better avoid these issues, you might want to call a New Jersey adoption lawyer that can identify potential problems before they occur. There are also a variety of visa requirements that may be necessary when trying to adopt from certain countries.

The potential financial problems depend on the type of adoption you’re thinking about going through. For instance, private adoptions and foreign adoptions usually come with more expenses than adopting through foster care. The same is true if you’re undergoing an open adoption wherein you’re going to be having some contact with the birth parents. It’s possible for the initial financial expenses of the adoption to include the medical bills related to the birth if the adoption is set to occur immediately after the child is born.

Health Problems and Emotional Issues

Obtaining pertinent information about a child’s health issues and health history is another common issue with many adoptions. Not having this information at the time of the adoption may cause problems later on if the child gets sick. Medical problems can make it difficult for the adoptive family to properly care for the child if they don’t have the funds to do so and didn’t anticipate the issues. Inherited diseases and possible drug use during pregnancy can bring about long-lasting health issues and developmental problems in a child. These are just a few reasons why medical history is so important.

Among the most common challenges of any adoption is dealing with the emotional issues that can occur with the child, adoptive family or birth parents. There are times when adoptive parents rush into the adoption without fully understanding all of the parenting challenges that occur after adopting a child. It’s also possible that the adopted child won’t be able to properly adjust to their new family. Furthermore, open adoptions can cause issues if the birth parents continue to maintain a high amount of contact with the child. The birth parents may even come to regret their choice to place the child up for adoption.

How Our New Jersey Adoption Lawyers Can Help You

Here at Cofsky & Zeidman, our attorneys have extensive experience in handling adoption cases in Southwest New Jersey. This experience has given us the knowledge necessary to comprehend and address any challenges that might occur throughout the adoption process. Since we handle many different types of adoption proceedings, our lawyers can provide you with assistance in anything from international adoptions to foster adoptions. If you ever have any questions about the adoption process, our firm offers confidential consultations that should prove useful.

If you’re interested in adopting a child and would like some legal assistance, call our Haddonfield,New Jersey adoption lawyer today at (856) 429-5005.