Adoption is a legal process in which the rights and responsibilities of a child are transferred from biological parents to the adoptive parents. The sole objective of adoption is welfare of the child. After adoption a new bond is formed that is between the adoptive parents and the adopted child so it is very important to consider all the factors before adoption which may affect the child. The biological parents will have no rights on the child after the adoption process is complete. Read on and know more about the adoption process. 

Adoption refers to a new parent-child relationship where either of the two is not directly related to each other and such a relationship did not exist before.

It is Essentially a Legal Process and Needs to be Validated with Court Proceedings Before a Judge.

Through adoption, the adoptive parent/s that they are now referred to as, receives an entire gamut of rights and responsibilities of a legal parent. The adoptive parent/s thereby becomes responsible to ensure the provision of all his emotional, social and legal rights as a child. The child becomes a family member of the adopted family in heart and in paper. This is a new parent child relationship that requires delicate nurturing and in the adoption documents, one can often come across phrases like ‘as if born’ to describe the position of the adopted child.

Through this process of adoption the natural parents of the child who is being adopted loses all rights and obligation towards their biological child. It is basically a legal transferring of their rights to the adoptive parent/s. as soon as their natural obligation ceases to exist; they acquire the position of a third party in regard to their relation with the child. Now it is a new weave of relationship based on responsibilities and rights that the adoptive parents share with this new member in their family.

The process of adoption takes place according to the natural laws of the land. The statutory law of the state that the parents and the child reside requires both the parties to follow the legal procedure.

What is the Primary Responsibility of the Adoptive Parents During and After the Adoption Procedure?

The principal obligations of the adoptive parents towards the adoptive minor are health, welfare and education. Once the minor child is adopted by the parents, it is expected of the parent/s to ensure they would take care of all the requirements of the child.

What is the Primary Right of the Adopted Child?

Just as the parent/s is responsible for the general welfare and betterment of the child, the child also obtain a natural right to inherit the estate or the property of the parent/s. but it should be noted that this right to property can be altered or scrapped with the help of certain legal documents like a valid Will or a Trust. And if the parent dies without leaving behind a Will, the property owned by the parent/s during the time of the death comes to be legally owned by the adopted child. It is vital to note that the adopted child has no right whatsoever to the property of his biological parents.

How is the Adoption Decree Formulated and Passed?

Before the court passes on the rights of the adopted child to the adoptive parents, the court thoroughly needs to determine that the biological parents are completely aware that they are relinquishing their parental rights. The court needs to be convinced that they are doing so voluntarily with full understanding. Then, according to the law of the land, the severing of ties and bestowing of rights take place simultaneously, often on the same day.

The Reports and Documents that the Court Considers in this Regard:

•  Home study document that evaluates the environment that the adopting parent will provide to the child and its suitability with respect to his needs

• The pre-adoption counseling reports of the biological and adoptive parents

• Other associative reports and recommendations of the case workers