Problems With Adoption

Do you ever wonder why it is that a couple any where in the world, no matter how poor or rich they are, no matter what they do for a living, no matter what kind of people they are, no matter if they have a criminal record or not, can have as many kids as they like and nobody can say one word about it.

Hmm... go figure.

One must be prepared for challenges and some discouraging times when adopting a child. Everything may run smoothly for you, however, this will not always be the case. Here is are just five problems with adoption that may arise.

Remember that adoption laws will vary from state to state (or province/country). However, in general, the laws will be much the same.

1. Consent to Adoption

This consent refers to the agreement by a parent, or a guardian or agency acting in place of a parent, to relinquish the child for adoption and to release all rights and duties with respect to that child.

In other words before you can adopt the child the birth parent or agency in charge, if the birth parents are dead, has to give consent for the adoption to take place.

However, this first step can get complicated. For example, what if the birth mother and father are not married and the mother wants to put the child up for adoption but the father does not?

This becomes an extremely messy situation, creating several unexpected problems with adoption. First there is the court battle between the mother and father to determine who gets the say in the matter. In most cases unless the mother is proven unfit, the right to place the child up for adoption is granted.

If not, however, then a determination has to be made as to whether or not the father is given custody of the child. We are assuming at this point that since he was against the adoption that he will want to keep the child. But he is in no way legally obligated to do this and can put the child up for adoption at a later date.

2. Your Age Requirement

Some states/provinces will differ, however, generally speaking anyone over the age of 18 can adopt, except for in some states you must be 21 and still in others the minimum age is 25. I am not sure specifically why this is, but you can always ask in your state/province.

Minors are allowed to adopt under certain circumstances but this is very rare. When adopting a child you may be required to be least 10 years older than the child. So if you want to adopt a 15 year old boy you have to be at least 25 years of age.

3. Adoptive Parents Residency

Then there is the residency question. Most states require that you be living at your current residence for at least 60 days.

4. Who are the Children that can be Adopted?

Generally, anyone under the age of 18. Of course, this will depend on the state, as there will be some additional requirements to this. For example, in some states the child has to be living in that state at the time of the adoption. So if you wanted to adopt someone from overseas you wouldn't be able to.

In other states this extends even further to the child having to be a resident for a certain length of time. A few states do however, allow the adoption of a person regardless of age but this is very rare.

5. Don't forget those adoption fees.

In most states/provices the adoptive parents have to pay these fees and they can be enormous, going into the tens of thousands of dollars. This to me is absurd. The biological parents are giving their child up for adoption anyway, because they do not want them, but it's the adoptive parents who have to pay to get the child.

Some would say that is hard logic to argue with. As you can see, adoption is not simple. There are problems with adoption that could arise from the get-go.

Add up all the above and the adoption process can be a very lengthy one, sometimes taking years. Some may wonder, "Why would anyone bother going through the trouble?" My answer: "Because it's worth it!!!

More Adopting Requirements

Make Yourself Eligible to Adopt

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