What should birth parents know about the adoption process?

by | Sep 27, 2018 | adoption, Firm News

An adoption can be an important time in the life of an Ohio family because it involves the creation of a legal relationship between a child and their new parents. However, there are two other important individuals who are affected by the adoption process, and they are the child’s birth parents. Birth parents are the individuals who biologically created the child up for adoption, and they have important rights that all parties to adoptions should understand before beginning the process.

A child cannot be adopted if their birth parents still have their parental rights intact. Parental rights may be terminated by the courts or may be voluntarily relinquished.

In general, a court may involuntarily terminate a parent’s rights if that parent has hurt or abused their child, if the parent has abandoned their child, or if the parent is not able to care for their child. Individuals should check with Ohio adoption attorneys for more information on the involuntary termination of parental rights.

Parents can choose to give up their parental rights in order to allow for the adoption of their child. A parent who chooses this path may later be barred from revoking the termination of their rights, and therefore it is imperative that parents understand the binding nature such a revocation may have on their opportunities to care for their kids.

Just as a divorce severs the relationship between two married adults, terminating parental rights severs the relationship between a parent and child. Both birth parents and prospective adoptive parents should use this post as a starting point to learn more about the role that birth parents may play in the Ohio adoption process.

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