Every state's adoption procedure is a little different. In Georgia, adoption is available to parents in a variety of circumstances. The primary concern of courts and agencies is that the parent has the ability and preparedness to care for the children. Depending on the circumstances, adoption may take as little as 4 to 10 months to complete.
Adoption eligibility includes one or more of the following:
- 25+ years of age and, if single, at least 10 years older than the adoptive child
- Married and living with a spouse who is 10+ years older than the adoptive child
- Maintained legal residency in Georgia for at least 6 months prior to filing
Parents may adopt teenagers, children under 10 years of age, groups of siblings, and special needs children. You may have to demonstrate your eligibility in court as part of the adoption process. To help you prepare for the process and secure a successful adoption, you may need the assistance of a divorce lawyer in Paulding County.
Read more about the procedures of Georgia adoption. When you are prepared to secure dedicated legal guidance, contact Henrickson & Sereebutra!
Inquiry and Information Session
To begin the formal adoption process through an agency, you first make contact with the agency and attend an informational meeting to get more information about how the agency conducts its adoption procedure. Before the adoption process formally begins, an agency representative will likely conduct a home visit to observe the environment you will bring the child into.
Pre-Service Training and Family Evaluation
After the home visit has been conducted, parents attend a preparation program that can involve more than 20 hours of classroom training, including information about the children and behavior management techniques. After training is completed, the agency performs an evaluation of the family. This includes an assessment of the home environment, medical reports, criminal records, finances, and other factors.
Placement and Finalization
After the assessment is complete, a family must wait for approval before beginning the placement process. The period that a family must wait varies from case to case, but this process may be shortened if the family identifies a child for consideration. Once a child has been matched, the parents will review information about the child and conduct a series of visits as part of the placement process.
After these visits are completed, the parents may sign the placement agreement, and the child will become a part of their family. This completes most of the parents' correspondence with the agency, but the adoption must still be legally recognized by a court of law. The legal finalization process is usually conducted in a hearing at a Superior Court. Once the adoption is finalized, the process is complete!
Retain Experienced Legal Professionals for Your Adoption
Adoptions may be legally conducted in a variety of ways. However, all of these options may not be available to every parent. To get a better understanding of how you may adopt a child in Georgia, speak with our Paulding County divorce attorney. At Henrickson & Sereebutra, our team has more than 20 years of experience handling family law cases of all kinds.
Adoption is one of the many complex legal procedures that we have helped many clients work through. Schedule a free consultation with us today and find out how we may help you secure a positive resolution!