Independent Private Adoption

Independent adoption or private adoption is one of the options available to parents considering adoption. By definition, adoption refers to the process of establishing a parent-child relationship between persons. The adoption process begins legally when the adoptive parents file a petition for adoption.

In an independent adoption or private adoption, the couple who is looking to adopt a child looks for and finds a child for adoption without the help of an adoption agency. Independent adoption may be facilitated by a non-licensed intermediary such as a friend, relative, physician or anyone else. Even if you are doing an independent adoption, you will want to hire a licensed attorney who is familiar with the state and federal adoption laws to help you with the adoption process.

Open Adoption

By its nature, an independent adoption is an open or ‘identified’ process, where the names and addresses of the birth parents have to be supplied and thus, become known to the adoptive parents. (By contrast, agency adoptions can be open or closed). As with agency adoptions, the law requires that in a private adoption, background information, including health history be provided to the adoptive parents In an open process the birth parents (or mother) give the consent directly to the adoptive parents. In the case of agency adoption, the parental rights are relinquished to the agency, which in turn gives the consent for adoption.

Benefits of Independent Adoption

It offers a possibility of shorter waiting periods for the adoptive parents and cuts through the (sometimes) bureaucratic requirements of adoption agencies. For birth mothers, there is a chance of playing a more active role in selecting a new family for the child. And importantly, it facilitates face to face meeting between birth and adoptive parents, the psychological benefits of which cannot be underscored. We at McIlveen Family Law Firm have considerable experience in the various legal aspects related to independent adoptions or private adoptions. We will guide you right from filing the petition for adoption. We can also help in reducing the stress associated with the pre-placement home study approval that is mandatory.