ADOPTION - Birth Parents

ADOPTION - Adoptive Parents

ADOPTION - Birth Parents

1956 I am pregnant and considering adoption --

To help you through the decisions you face with this pregnancy, counseling or legal representation is available to you, at no cost to you. The counselor or attorney can inform you of your options and how to pursue them. Be assured that should you decide to relinquish your child for adoption there is an adoptive couple who has been determined to be caring, loving and financially able to adopt a child and who would be grateful to have your child placed with them.

1957 Confidentiality in adoption

Your discussions with a counselor or an attorney regarding your relinquishment of a child for adoption are strictly confidential. Any communication you may have with prospective adoptive parents can be limited to first name only. Or, should birth parents desire to remain entirely anonymous, their identity can remain totally confidential as between the birth parents and the adoptive parents.

1958 What is a private adoption?

The placement of the child with adoptive parents and the relinquishment of the birth parents' rights are achieved in private dealings between the birth parents and the adoptive parents, without the assistance of an adoption agency. An attorney represents the birth parents in their dealings with the adoptive parents who have representation by their own attorney.

1959 Birth mother's rights in adoption

The birth mother, along with the birth father if he is present, selects the adoptive parents. The birth mother selects the place of birth and the type of contact the adoptive parents have with the child after birth and prior to the relinquishment of the child by the birth parents. In an out of wedlock birth, the birth mother identifies the birth father by written statement. Under certain circumstances the birth mother may not be required to name the birth father. A birth mother whose parental rights have been terminated in a judicial proceeding have none of the aforementioned rights.

1960 Birth father's rights in adoption

A birth father who is married to the birth mother is presumed to be the father of the child, unless there are facts of an out of wedlock birth. An out of wedlock father who is identified as the birth father by the birth mother must have legal notice of an intended adoption. The out of wedlock father can admit or deny paternity and waive his parental rights, relinquishes his parental rights and consent to the adoption, or claim paternity and seek custody of the child, if he follows the legal procedure set forth by Nebraska law. A birth father whose parental rights have been terminated in a judicial proceeding have none of the aforementioned rights.

1961 What is the adoption legal process?

After the birth of the child, the birth mother's relinquishment of the child and consent to the adoption of the child by the adoptive parents, along with the birth father's relinquishment waiver of rights or consent, or the verified notice to the birth father of the mother's intent to relinquish, the child can be placed with the adoptive parents. The adoptive parents will have had a home study done prior to placement to verify their suitability as adoptive parents. When the child has lived with the adoptive parents for six months, the adoptive parents may obtain a court decree of adoption from the county court of the residence of the child. There are different legal rules if the child is eligible to be a member of an American Indian tribe.

1962 Nebraska adoption law overview

The voluntary relinquishment of a birth parent's parental rights and consent to the adoption of a child is irrevocable upon the signing of the relinquishment documents. The birth parents' parental rights terminate upon the signing of the relinquishment. There is no waiting period, or time gap, in which the relinquishing parent has an opportunity to change his or her mind. The adoptive parents must have a home study completed prior to the placement of the child with them. The child must live with the adoptive parents for a period of six months before the court can enter a decree of adoption. An adoption decree results in the creation of a new birth certificate with the child's name as requested in the adoption proceeding and with the adoptive parents listed as the child's parents.

1963 Finding adoptive parents

Couples who want to adopt a child use conventional and innovative means to pursue their search for birth parents relinquish to them. An adoption agency is one conventional source for the birth mother and adoptive parents to find with one another. Private attorneys who practice adoption law know of prospective adoptive couples who are seeking to adopt a child. Birth parents can find the adoptive parents through an adoption attorney. Some adoptive parents place ads in the classified section of local newspapers, or college newspapers, with the hope that a birth mother's response will lead to an adoptive placement. Adoption attorneys from other states often place ads in newspapers, or other publications, in an effort to seek a child for their clients, the adoptive parents.

1964 Placing a baby with a couple who live in another state

Nothing prohibits a child born in Nebraska from being placed for adoption with a couple who reside in another state. Such a placement involves the approval of the agencies from each state, the state sending the baby and the state receiving the baby, to insure that the child is placed with an appropriate family and to insure that the rights of the birth parents are legally satisfied.

1965 What expenses can be paid for me?

The adoptive parents can pay the birth mother only reasonable expenses related to the pregnancy. These expenses may include maternity clothes, pregnancy related medical expenses not covered by insurance or Medicaid, and must be an expense incurred directly as a result of the pregnancy. No expense can be paid that in any way provides the mother luxuries or extravagances.

1966 What is an open adoption?

The openness of an adoption pertains to the degree in which there is communication between the birth parents and the adoptive parent prior to the birth and after the placement of the child. An adoption can be open to the extent that the adoptive parents provide the birth parents pictures of the child at significant times in the child's life, but there is no communication between the child and the birth parents. Or, an adoption can be open to the extent that the child has personal contact with the birth parents at times agreed to by the adoptive parents and birth parents. Relinquishing parents can determine whether or not thechild can have access to his or her original birth certificate after the child reaches the age of twenty-one.

1967 Why hire an attorney?

There are certain legal steps, which must be followed in order to have a valid final adoption decree, which cannot be undone in a subsequent legal procedure. Birth parents and adoptive parents who put the best interests of the child at the forefront and who consider the sensibilities of the child, will want to strictly follow these legal steps to avoid the possibility of the adoption being reversed and the inevitable disruption in the child's life. Adoption laws have become more and more complicated in recent years in recognition of the rights of out of wedlock fathers. An attorney with knowledge of adoption law can lead birth parents, or adoptive parents, through the adoption process giving them the assurance that the adoption legal procedure is followed properly.

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ADOPTION - Adoptive Parents

1968 Adopting a child in Nebraska

A Nebraska couple who seeks to adopt a child born in Nebraska must have a home study done by a child placement agency, licensed in the state of Nebraska. The home study must be done prior to the placement of the child in the home of the adoptive couple. The child must reside with the adoptive couple for six months before the court can enter a decree of adoption. The decree of adoption will result in the creation of a new birth certificate for the child showing the adoptive parents to be the child's parents. The child's name on the new birth certificate will be the name given the child by the adoptive parents.

1969 Finding a baby

One of the most difficult obstacles prospective adoptive couples face is finding a child to adopt. Adoption agencies are one source of an adoption placement. Attorneys who practice adoption law may represent a birth mother who is seeking an adoptive couple. Some adoptive couples advertise in publications that they desire to adopt a child. Sometimes adoptive couples learn of a possible adoption through the couple's family, friends, or clergy. If a birth mother responds to the ad of the adoptive couple, or otherwise becomes aware of the adoptive couple's desire to adopt, and agrees to place the child with them, an adoptive couple should consult an attorney in order to follow the necessary legal procedure to secure a valid adoption.

1970 What is a private adoption?

The placement of the child with adoptive parents and the relinquishment of the birth parents' rights are achieved in a private manner, with separate attorneys representing the birth parents and the adoptive parents. The adoption placement occurs without the assistance of an adoption agency.

1971 Open or closed adoption

The openness of an adoption pertains to the degree in which there is communication between the birth parents and the adoptive parents prior to the birth and after the placement of the child. Commonly, the birth parents and the adoptive parents meet prior to the placement on a first name basis only; and following the placement, the adoptive parents have no further contact with the birth parents but the adoptive parents will provide the birth parents photos of the child at agreed upon intervals. An adoption can be open to the extent that there is continued communication between the birth and adoptive parents following the placement and may include actual contact between the birth parents and the child.

1972 When do we need a home study?

Nebraska law requires that the home study of the adoptive parents be completed prior to the placement of the child in the home of the adoptive parents. The home study will include a criminal background check with the Nebraska State Patrol and a search of the Nebraska central registry for child abuse.

1973 How to get a home study

A Nebraska couple who needs a home study must have the home study completed by a child placement agency, licensed in the state of Nebraska. In certain cases, the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services may conduct the home study.

1974 Relinquishment and consent of birth parents

The birth parents sign the documents relinquishing their parental rights and consenting to the adoption no sooner than forty-eight hours after the birth of the child. Pursuant to Nebraska law, a voluntary relinquishment and consent is irrevocable upon the signing. There is no waiting period, or gap of time, in which the birth parents have an opportunity to change their minds and reverse the relinquishment.

1975 Adopting a child born in another state

Nebraska adoptive parents who identify a child to be born and/or residing in a state other than Nebraska will have their home study and request for adoption processed by a Nebraska state agency and a state agency in the state sending the child to reside in Nebraska prior to the placement of the child with the adoptive couple. Only after the approval of both state agencies will the Nebraska couple be able to remove the child from the sending state. The involvement of the state agencies in interstate adoptions insures that the child is placed with a suitable adoptive couple and that the rights of the birth parents are satisfied fully.

1976 Adopting a child related to me

There are occasions when grandparents seek to adopt their grandchildren or aunts or uncles seek to adopt their nieces or nephews. If the birth parents voluntarily placed the child with a relative without the assistance of an attorney, physician or agency and later the relative seeks to adopt the child, a pre-placement home study requirement is not required. However, the relatives seeking the adoption must have a post placement home study completed by a Nebraska licensed child placement agency prior to court hearing for adoption. In certain cases, the Nebraska Department of Health and Home Services may conduct the home study.

1977 Adopting my Spouse's child

Nebraska law provides for stepparent adoptions. That is, a spouse adopts the biological child of his or her spouse. In most cases, the court does not require a home study for a stepparent adoption. However, the adopting spouse must provide the court with a Nebraska criminal background check and a search of the Nebraska central registry of child abuse. In all step parent adoptions, the parental rights of the biological parent who is not the spouse must be satisfied either by the biological parent's relinquishment, verified notice or judicial determination of abandonment.

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