Family Law & Divorce · Haute Lawyer Network
What Is the Adoption Process?
Last reviewed: June 2026
Adoption is the legal process through which a person permanently assumes parental rights and responsibilities for a child who is not their biological child, creating a new legal parent-child relationship. Once adoption is finalized, the adoptive parent has the same legal rights and obligations as a biological parent — including inheritance rights, child support obligations, and the right to make decisions about the child's upbringing.
Types of adoption include domestic infant adoption — usually arranged through an agency or independently — foster care adoption — adopting a child who has been placed in the foster care system after parental rights have been terminated, international adoption — adopting a child from another country, stepparent adoption — when a stepparent formally adopts a spouse's child, and adult adoption — adopting an adult, used in estate planning and to formalize longstanding parent-child relationships.
Frequently Asked Questions
What must happen before a child can be adopted?
The biological parents' parental rights must be terminated — either voluntarily through relinquishment or involuntarily through a court proceeding. Without termination of parental rights, adoption cannot proceed.
What is a home study?
An evaluation of prospective adoptive parents' suitability — including interviews, home inspection, background checks, financial review, and reference checks — required in virtually all adoption proceedings.
What is an open adoption?
An adoption in which the birth parent(s) maintain some form of contact with the child and adoptive family — ranging from letters and photos to in-person visits. The terms are typically memorialized in a post-adoption contact agreement, though enforceability varies by state.
What is a stepparent adoption and what does it require?
A stepparent adoption requires the other biological parent to relinquish their parental rights (or have them terminated), the court to find the adoption is in the child's best interest, and the stepparent to complete the home study and other required steps.
Does an adopted child have inheritance rights from biological relatives?
No. Adoption legally severs the child's relationship with their biological family — including inheritance rights. The adopted child inherits from their adoptive family, not their biological family, unless specific provisions are made.
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