Tag: independent adoptions

can i change my mind, adoption

Can I change my mind about the adoption after I sign papers?

You may change your mind at any time prior to signing consent papers. See Consent to Adoption

After papers are signed, in private adoptions, you have 30 calendar days after signing the consent to change your mind.

However, if you signed a Waiver of the Right to Revoke Consent in front of a judge, your consent is immediately irrevocable, and you cannot change your mind.

If you signed a Waiver of the Right to Revoke Consent in front of an Adoption Service Provider , you can change your mind until the Waiver becomes final at the close of the next business day after signing.

how will an attorney help a birth mom?

How will an attorney help a birth mother?

Being pregnant and considering adoption is scary and overwhelming. Birth mothers have rights and options. Your lawyer will explain your rights and options to you.

Agency or independent?

For example, you can choose an agency adoption, or an independent (private) adoption. In a private adoption, you will get to select adoptive parents.

Open, Closed, Semi-Open?

An open adoption is where you select the adoptive family for your baby. There will be no secrecy, and as your baby grows, he/she will learn about their biological history.

Before you choose your adoptive parents, you will learn about their values, their faith, and the type of home your baby will grow up in. You can decide what type of contact you will have – you can have texts, pictures, letters or visits. Or you can choose to have minimal contact. We can help you draft a written agreement for any future contact, if any, you will have with the adoptive parents.

A majority of private adoptions are now open.

In a semi-open adoption, the birth mother and adoptive parents have contact during her pregnancy, and may even meet in person. However, after the adoption, they may share information through an intermediary (agency or attorney). Photographs and letters are often exchanged, but little to no identifying information is disclosed. In an semi-open adoption, privacy may be protected.

In a closed adoption, no contact informtaion is shared between the birth mother and adoptive parents. A closed adoption is the most protective of birth mother’s privacy.

You will decide which type of adoption you want.

Post-Adoption

The adoption journey does not end after placement. You have just done what seemed like the impossible. The healing may be instant; or it may take time. There are resources, we will help you.

Brave Love Post-Adoptive Resources

How Will an Attorney help birth mom?

Do you work with birth moms outside of California?

Do you work with birth moms outside of California?

Yes. We work with birth moms all over the United States.

Prior to birth, we can meet via Zoom, or depending where you are, I will meet you in person.

Then, you may give birth to your baby in your home state, and adoptive parents from California will travel to your state and be in the hospital with you while you give birth (depending on your adoption plan).

The expenses that your adoptive parents pay for must be acceptable by the law of your state. You will then sign consent papers, and the adoptive parents may not leave the state until both states have approved of the adoption. We may need to work with an attorney or agency in your home state. Our office will coordinate this process for you so you do not need to worry.

birth mom, what are my options, birth mom choices

What are my options?

If you are facing an unplanned pregnancy, no decision will be an easy one. Before you make ANY decision, it is important to arm yourself with an armour of resources so you can properly understand what each decision entails.

Parenthood

Raising child isone of the most wonderful things you can do. It is also one of the most expensive. In 2023, it is estimated that the minimum amount required to raise a kid to adulthood in New York City is $500,000

If you decide to raise the baby, you may have questions about how you will pay for medical care, and where you can get resources. Below are links to pregnancy resource centers where you can find help.

Alternatives Pregnancy Center

Embrace Grace

Adoption

Adoption starts with loss. But sometimes it is the best option for your baby. Our offices can equip you with all the information you need if this is your option.

Abortion

Abortion is also a choice. If you have already had an abortion, and you are feeling guilt and suffering, there are many support groups and pregnancy resource centers also offer counseling to help you cope with grief. You are not alone.

Does the Baby's father need to be involved?

Does the Baby’s father need to be involved in the adoption?

Generally no, under California law. The exceptions, where the father would have to be involved and where his consent would be required, are the following:
a. If you and the father are or have been married;
b. If the father has received the child into his home and has publicly acknowledged that the child is his child;
c. If the father and you have both, at the hospital, signed a California state form in which you both agree that he is the father of the child (this form is called a Voluntary Declaration of Paternity); or
d. If the father has done everything he could have done to take responsibility for the child, both emotionally and financially, during the pregnancy, starting within a short time after he knew or should have known of the pregnancy.

If the father has done one or more of these above, then his consent to the adoption is necessary. If he will not consent, the adoption will be very difficult to move forward.

In all other circumstances, the father’s consent is not required, and he does not have the legal power to override the adoption.

There are some exceptions and limitations to these rules, so be sure to discuss the specifics of your situation with us, so that we can make sure that you are properly advised.

Consent is different than notice. Even though we do not need father’s consent, the law requires us to notify him about the adoption. Father’s rights is frequently an issue, so please call us and discuss.