Adoption in Seattle

Adopting a child can be a wonderful and rewarding experience. However, there are many legal considerations a person should consider before placing a child for adoption or before adopting a child. A qualified Seattle adoption attorney can be a good source for information you will need to make such an important decision. At McKinley Irvin you will find excellent Seattle adoption attorneys.

For information on forms to use for adoption, please see family law Seattle adoption information.

There are several different ways in which a party can adopt a child. For instance, there are domestic adoptions, international adoptions, stepparent adoptions with the biological mother's/father's consent, and stepparent adoptions without the biological parent's consent. Depending on the type of adoption, the legal requirements and processes vary significantly. In most cases, the state will be involved and will investigate your private life, your background, and perform pre-placement and post-placement investigations.

Prior to adoption, a child's biological parent(s) must either agree to give up his or her parental rights or have them extinguished by the state. For example, sometimes a custodial parent remarries after a divorce and wishes to have the new stepparent adopt the child from a prior relationship. Often the non-custodial biological parent will agree to this arrangement. However, absent agreement, having that person's parental rights extinguished involves a high legal standard, and it can be a very stressful and emotional procedure. An experienced Seattle adoption attorney should be consulted prior to considering adoption in order to make an informed decision about the process.

Washington State family law allows the biological parent(s) and adoptive parent(s) to enter into a binding agreement allowing continued communication and contact between the child and the biological parent(s) even though the parental rights of the biological parent(s) have been extinguished. Both parties should understand the legal ramifications of relinquishing parental rights and allowing continued communication.

The adoption laws in Washington State were established to protect the rights of the biological parents, the rights of the adoptive parents, and most importantly, the rights of the child. A qualified Seattle adoption attorney should be consulted prior to adopting a child, placing your child for adoption, or relinquishing your parental rights.

Please see Chapter 26.33 RCW: Adoption for specific statutory language regarding adoptions.