Essential adoption information for Texas families 

Adoption in Texas is a rewarding process that transforms families. In Texas, there is a specific process that you need to file to be considered as adoptive parents. Although Adoption is emotionally difficult for many families it is well worth the time, money, and stress that goes into the process. Building your family and forming an emotional bond with the child is something that you cannot put a price tag on. As a potential adoptive family, you understand this better than anyone.

However, all the best intentions in the world cannot solve the problems you encounter in an adoption case. Rather, you must have a plan when it comes to adoption. Understanding the law as well as the impact on your family is essential. Today’s blog post from the Law Office of Bryan Fagan provides you with an overview of the essential adoption practices of Texas. Obtaining information on adoption is important. However, understanding how the law impacts your family will ultimately be what matters the most.

The attorneys with the Law Office of Bryan Fagan offer free of charge consultations six days a week. These consultations can be invaluable for families like yours who are considering an adoption. As you move towards the potential of growing your family contact our office today. We work alongside families just like yours with a great deal of care. Our attorneys have the heart of a teacher. This means that we take the time you need to explain issues and help you better understand how the law will impact your case.

How the law impacts families like yours is important

Indeed, the laws associated with adoption in Texas can be complex and difficult to understand. Having a strong desire to adopt a child means that you have your heart in the right place. However, it does not necessarily mean that you are guaranteed success. Even well-meaning people find roadblocks when it comes to family law cases. You may encounter challenges in your adoption case that you did not anticipate. Being able to handle those challenges is a key part of your case.

One of the major issues that many people encounter in adoption is not the length of time necessary to complete the case. Unfortunately, some adoptions can take longer than many people anticipate. With that said it is incredibly helpful to have a team of attorneys available to assist you when mapping out a timeline for your case. At the end of the day, having an attorney who can manage your expectations and keep in mind the best interests of your potential adoptive child there’s the best of both worlds.

The attorneys with the Law Office of Bryan Fagan recommend that you consult with an attorney in person the word fear video before deciding to hire him or her. A strong desire to adopt her child is commendable. However, you need to be able to balance that desire with the knowledge that you are making decisions in your own best interest. Finally, managing the expectations of your spouse is also important. Being on the same page with your spouse throughout this process is a major part of finding success. Contact the attorneys with the Law Office of Bryan Fagan if you have any questions about this subject within the world of Texas adoption cases.

What is the adoption process like in Texas?

Understanding the steps of an adoption process in Texas is essential for your success. Again, having good intentions is an important part of the adoption timeline. Your heart is in the right place matters if you want to adopt a child. Giving that child a home where he or she is loved unconditionally is what parenthood is all about. It does not matter if we are talking about an adopted or biological child. 

With that said, you are not serving your adoptive child or your family well by going into an adoption process without a thorough understanding of what is expected of you and your family. To that point, there are challenges that your family must take on to complete the process successfully. Many parents of adoptive children will tell you that they wish they had a better understanding of the issues before the case began. Sometimes being wide-eyed and overly optimistic can lead to problems in preparing for the adoption of a child.

Fortunately for you, understanding the process in front of you is not overly difficult. It just means having a plan. While specific issues may arise that make your adoption more complex the timeline, we will cover today holds for most individuals going through an adoption. The better you understand the adoption the more suitable you become as an adoptive parent. Part of the process means being able to sidestep problems and avoid mistakes. In doing so, you can achieve the desired result. Namely, being able to adopt A child and build your family.

Filing an adoption petition in Texas

Filing an adoption petition outlines all the essential information in the case. As with most family law cases, an adoption begins with a petition. That petition addresses the critical elements of your case including your name and that of your co-parent. If you are married, then your spouse must be joined as a party to your adoption petition. You are not able to begin a petition for adoption without your spouse being involved. 

Right off the bat, you must talk to your spouse and be on the same page as him or her. Filing an adoption petition without 100% agreement from your spouse would be a major mistake. As we are about to cover, it is critical to the success of your adoption that you and your spouse agree on the adoption from beginning to end.

As part of filing an adoption petition, you will need to specify your reasons for the adoption. For example, you may be attempting to adopt a relative of yours such as a niece, nephew, or grandchild. Or you may be a foster parent who is now trying to adopt a child whom you have been fostering. Whatever the circumstance is you need to specify the basis for your adoption petition. From there, a court can consider your request along with the other information presented in your adoption petition.

Do you have concerns about drafting an adoption petition? If so, then you are not alone. Adoption petitions must be drafted in a way to conforms to the legal norms of an adoption case in Texas. Having an experienced family law attorney is a tremendous advantage in this regard. Your family can better prepare for adoption with the help of an attorney who serves clients in adoption cases.

How does a termination of parental rights fit into your adoption case?

An element of a Texas adoption case that is difficult for the parties involved is the termination of parental rights. As parents, we do whatever we can to ensure the best interests of our children. However, it may come to be that the best interests of a child are not served by maintaining a relationship with their parents moving forward. This may be the basis for you trying to adopt the child. With that in mind, we should spend some time discussing the termination of parental rights as part of an adoption case.

So often in adoption scenarios, we tend to think only about the result. Namely, you and your spouse can adopt a little boy or girl. Before you can get to that point it is necessary to consider circumstances surrounding the parental rights of the adoptive child’s biological parents. Due to several factors, the child’s parents may not be well suited to continue as a mother or father. This is never a situation where the child is doing well. Rather, typically children in this situation find themselves struggling because of a breakdown in the parent-child relationship.

For you to be able to come in and adopt the child his or her parents must first have their parental rights terminated. This can be a subject that leaves some parents unprepared. As a prospective adoptive parent, you need to be able to look out for potential problems as they arise. Not every termination case is straightforward. In some circumstances, you will encounter roadblocks when trying to terminate appearance parental rights. Let’s spend some time discussing the details surrounding parental rights termination in Texas.

Termination of parental rights can be done voluntarily or involuntarily

There are two types of parental rights termination cases that you should be aware of. The first is the voluntary termination of parental rights. Ideally, you will be trying to adopt a child whose biological parents agree with the adoption. This means that your prospective adoptive child has parents who understand it is no longer in the child’s best interests for them to be in a relationship with the child. As such, the child’s parents can sign onto your petition to terminate. It is still up to a court to determine whether to terminate the parental rights. However, having the support of a parent means a great deal as you attempt to win in your adoption case.

The other type of adoption case involves the involuntary termination of the child’s parental rights. This means that the child’s parents do not agree to have their parental rights terminated. As such, you can expect that the parents will fight tooth and nail against the termination. When you encounter a situation like this that is best to have an experienced family law attorney to guide you. The last thing you want is to find yourself about to embark on a legal case without having your best arguments in place.

Termination of parental rights is necessary before an adoption may be considered. Typically, you will file termination cases simultaneous to the adoption. From there, in a contested termination case, you can expect that the biological parents will hire an attorney and put their best foot forward in attempting to maintain parental rights. Not having an attorney of your own is a significant disadvantage for you to find yourself in. Reach out to the Law Office of Bryan Fagan to talk to an attorney about how to maximize your chances for success in a parental rights termination scenario.

Home studies are undergone to determine the suitability of your home for adoption

One of the crucial components of an adoption is the home study. To grant your adoption a court will want to ensure that you and your spouse offer this child the best possible environment to grow up in. Unfortunately, a judge can only see so much from their vantage point in the courtroom. As a result, you can expect that a court will attempt to discover as much as possible about your family to assist in that decision-making.

A home study provides the judge with an opportunity to gain a better understanding of your family away from the courtroom. The court will employ a social worker or other professional to perform a basic study of your home environment. This includes the home itself, the people who live in the home, and the relationship that you all share. The purpose of the home study Is to help the court decide about the best interests of the child. Specifically, whether it is in a child’s best interest for you to be named as their adoptive parent.

Preparing for a home study is a crucial component in the adoption process. An experienced attorney with the Law Office of Bryan Fagan can help you get ready for this step in your case. There is more to a social study or placement study than simply cleaning the home. Rather, additional steps must be taken to help get your house and family prepared. Our attorneys know how to guide families in this crucial spot.

Adoption hearings are held

Once the home study is complete and all evidence has been submitted the court decides after a hearing. That hearing allows you, any interested party, and the biological parents of the child to come forth and present evidence. The judge will have received documentation from the home city providing the court with an opinion about the suitability of her household taking care of a child. The judge will have an opportunity, as would your attorney to question the social worker who performed the study. This way the judge can have the most information possible when deciding.

Family law hearings are extremely complex. Succeeding in a hearing it’s not a matter of collecting the most evidence and piling it on the desk of the judge. Rather, you must first introduce, offer, and admit the evidence into the record. Meanwhile, the opposing attorney will be ready to try and block the introduction of this evidence. Imagine coming to the very end of an adoption only to find that a crucial piece of evidence cannot be admitted into the record. This would truly be an unfortunate circumstance for your family to find themselves in. 

Rather than find yourself struggling to complete your case it is best to have an attorney who knows how to achieve success in the family courts of Texas. Having an experienced family law attorney to walk alongside you in your adoption case is incredibly important. An attorney can help you not only prepare your case but also advocate for you in the courtroom. There is no substitute for diligent representation inside a courtroom. There is nothing worse than feeling alone when you are staring down an opposing attorney or a judge.

Final thoughts on essential adoption information for Texas families

An adoption case can be among the most exciting but also stressful in all of Texas family law. Families like yours work diligently throughout an adoption case to try and expand the size of their family. Ultimately, want to make a favorable impact on the life of your potential adoptive child. Before you can do so, however, a lot of thought and consideration needs to go into preparing for your case.

Fortunately for you, there are options to consider when it comes to proceeding. The attorneys with the Law Office of Bryan Fagan know how to help families just like yours face the real-world challenges of an adoption case. This is not a circumstance where you want to feel like you are battling the courts or anyone else on your own. Ideally, an adoption should be a joyous circumstance involving the addition of a child to your family. Looking back on these moments can either be an incredibly special or stressful event.

Thank you for joining us today on the blog for the Law Office of Bryan Fagan. To learn more about the information contained in this blog post please do not hesitate to reach out to the attorneys at the Law Office of Bryan Fagan. 

Questions about the material contained in today’s blog post? Contact the Law Office of Bryan Fagan

The attorneys with the Law Office of Bryan Fagan offer free of charge consultations six days a week in person, over the phone, and via video. These consultations are a great way for you to learn more about the world of Texas family law. Before signing a document or negotiating on a subject you do not know well, contact our office. We look forward to the opportunity of serving you during an important part of your life. The Law Office of Bryan Fagan is on your side.