Las Vegas Adoption Attorney
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Thousands of Nevada children are in need of a safe and loving home. Prospective families may be apprehensive to adopt due to the unfamiliarity with the adoption process. Families seeking to adopt have a variety of resources available to them. An adoption attorney guides prospective parents through the adoption process and helps Nevada families grow.
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For questions about the adoption process in Nevada, call Kemp & Kemp today. (702) 258-1183
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How an Adoption Attorney Can Help Grow Your Family
An adoption attorney can help you grow your family through the adoption process. Our adoption attorneys are familiar with the requirements to adopt in Nevada, the documentation needed, and assistance available to prospective families. An adoption attorney can help you prepare for your adoption case, determine what kind of adoption is right for you, and guide you to assistance programs that fit your family’s needs.
Parental Rights
A child must be legally free before an adoption can take place. The parental rights of the birth/legal parents of the child must either be voluntarily or involuntarily surrendered.
Termination of Parental Rights
A termination of parental rights action is a court case that is filed to terminate a parent’s legal rights and responsibilities for a child. It is an involuntary proceeding and can be adversarial in nature. It is also necessary if the birth parent’s identity and/or whereabouts are unknown. The burden of proof is very high as it involves constitutionally protected rights. The Petitioner must prove by clear and convincing evidence that termination of parental rights is in the child’s best interests and that there is parental fault.
Consent to a Specific Adoption
A document wherein a birth parent agrees to voluntarily relinquish their parental rights so that a named person or persons may adopt the child. A Consent to a Specific adoption confers on the intended adoptive parents rights to legally care for the child until the adoption is finalized. A Consent to a Specific Adoption must list the name or names of the intended adoptive parents and can only be used by them. A Consent to a Specific Adoption must be in writing, signed by the birth parent in front of two witnesses and a notary public. If the intended adoptive parents are not related to the child within the third degree of consanguinity or married to the parent of the child, one of the witnesses is required to be a licensed child-placing social worker.
Relinquishment
A document wherein a birth parent agrees to voluntarily relinquish their parental rights so that the child may be placed for adoption. A Relinquishment is usually executed by a Nevada licensed child-placing agency or a child welfare agency who identifies an adoptive placement for the child. A Relinquishment must be in writing, signed by the birth parent in front of two witnesses and a notary public. If the intended adoptive parents are not related to the child within the third degree of consanguinity or married to the parent of the child, one of the witnesses is required to be a licensed child-placing social worker.
A Consent or Relinquishment is not valid if it is executed by the birth mother less than 72 hours after giving birth. A birth father may execute a Consent or Relinquishment at any time before or after the birth of the child.
A consent or relinquishment executed in the State of Nevada must comply with Nevada law regardless of where the adoption is finalized.
A consent or relinquishment is irrevocable once signed by the birth parent, with very few exceptions.
Nevada Adoptions
Who may Petition
One or more adult persons may petition to adopt a minor child. They are called the Petitioners. Though uncommon, more than two people may adopt a child. Married and unmarried persons/couples may adopt together regardless of gender, but they need to all reside together with the child sought to be adopted. There are no restrictions on single persons adopting by themselves. A married individual may adopt by themselves if their spouse consents to the adoption in writing. For a stepparent adoption, both the birth/legal parent and the stepparent must be Petitioners for the adoption case.
Residency
The Petitioners do not need to be residents of Nevada to finalize an adoption here if the child is subject to the jurisdiction of a Nevada court and/or Nevada is the “home state” of the child and in most cases Nevada law requires that the adoption be finalized in Nevada if it is the child’s “home state.” The Petitioners may petition the court in any county within the State of Nevada.
Time to File & Finalize the Petition for Adoption
The child must have resided in the Petitioners’ home for at least 30 days before a Petition for Adoption can be filed with the court. The adoption cannot not be finalized until the child has resided in the Petitioners’ home for at least 6 months. The adoption court may waive the 6-month placement requirement if the Petitioners are closely related to the child.
Age restrictions
The Petitioners are required to be at least 10 years older than the child sought to be adopted. While there are no maximum ages cited by Nevada law, age and health concerns can be taken into consideration when determining whether the adoption is in the child’s best interests, and the Petitioner’s ability to care for the child. This is usually determined during the home study process. The adoption court may waive the minimum age requirement if the Petitioners are relatives of the child.
Finances and Fitness
The Petitioners must be fit and proper persons to have the care and custody of the child sought to be adopted, and they must be financially able to provide for the child. The Petitioners must show that they are able to meet the needs of the child. This is usually confirmed during the home study process.
Consents
A child cannot be placed in a potential adoptive home until the birth mother has consented to the adoption or relinquished her parental rights.
Consents are not required from the birth parents if their parental rights were terminated by a court order.
If a child is 14 years of age or older, the child must consent to the adoption.
Types of Adoption
Nevada is an “agency state” meaning that almost all adoptions are required to have a Nevada licensed child-placing agency or a child welfare agency (DFS/DCFS) involved in the adoption process regardless of whether the adoption is ultimately finalized in Nevada. The agency may be needed to complete a home study, supervise the placement, witness the relinquishment and/or consents and initiate/facilitate the ICPC process (Interstate Compact for Placement of Children).
Closed Adoption
A closed adoption is an adoption where the identities of the birth parents and adoptive parents are generally not known to each other and there is no future contact between the birth parents and the child or the adoptive parents.
Open or Semi-Open Adoption
There are many levels of openness available to the birth and adoptive parents in an adoption. It could mean that the birth parents and adoptive parents know each other’s identities, with or without any future contact. Birth parents and adoptive parents may choose to enter into a Post Adoption Contact Agreement (PACA), where some form of contact is maintained between the birth parents and the adoptive parents and/or the child. A PACA is a legally enforceable contract that is required to be included in the Decree of Adoption. The adoption court maintains jurisdiction over the PACA during the child’s minority.
Agency Adoption
Agency adoptions are facilitated by Nevada licensed, child-placing agencies in conjunction with an attorney. Agency adoptions can be open or closed depending on the preferences of the birth parents and the prospective adoptive parents. These agencies offer various services like matching birth parents or a child with prospective adoptive parents, completing home studies, providing birth parent counseling, supervising child placements, witnessing relinquishments/consents, initiating and/or facilitating ICPC placements. Nevada child-placing agencies are non-profit organizations and charge sliding scale fees based on your income. Costs vary depending on what services the agency provides, but they are often $10,000+. You will need to contact an adoption agency directly to get a better estimate on what their fee schedule is and what the home study process and requirements are. You might want to contact more than one, so you can gauge what services are offered and the costs involved. Some offer à la carte services, and you only pay for the services you need, while others require a complete services contract.
Private Adoption
This term is sometimes used when the birth parents and the prospective adoptive parents “match” or find each other without the assistance of an adoption agency. If the prospective adoptive parents are not closely related to the child, then the parties will still need the assistance of a child-placing agency, including obtaining a home study, witnessing a consent or relinquishment, etc. Please be aware that not all child-placing agencies will provide adoption services if they did not make the “match” between the birth and adoptive families. You will need to verify that with the individual agency when making inquires.
Relative Adoption
Relative adoptions can include stepparents, grandparents, great-grandparents, adult siblings, aunts and uncles. If a prospective adoptive parent is related to the child within the third degree of consanguinity or is married to the child’s parent, the requirement for a welfare investigation (home study) and report may be waived by the adoption court. The adoption court may also waive the requirement that the child be placed for six months in the adoptive home and/or the requirement that the adoptive parent be at least 10 years older than the child sought to be adopted in some cases.
Foster Care Adoption
Foster children have been removed from the legal and physical custody of their birth/legal parents due to abuse and/or neglect. Foster children are in the legal custody of a State or County child welfare agency and are wards of the Juvenile Court. For example, in Clark County, Nevada the child welfare agency is DFS—Department of Family Services, the child welfare agency for Nevada’s rural counties is the State of Nevada DCFS—Division of Child and Family Services and Washoe County, Nevada has its own child welfare agency. Foster children may be adopted by licensed foster parents and approved relative resources, (who may also need to be licensed), after the Juvenile Court has determined that reunification with the birth parents is not possible and the permanency plan for the child is changed to adoption. Before the adoption process can move forward, parental rights will either be involuntarily terminated by the Juvenile Court or the birth parents may voluntarily relinquish their parental rights to the agency in order to place the child for adoption. The child welfare agency who has legal custody of the foster child conducts the home study, handles the termination of parental rights cases and/or facilitates the completion of relinquishments at no or little cost to the foster-adopt family. If a child has been determined to have “special needs” various adoption subsidies may be available to the foster-adopt parents. Foster care adoptions may be open or closed depending on the circumstances. Post Adoption Contact Agreements are also possible in some situations, and there also may be Sibling Visitation Orders if siblings have not been placed together. In most cases, foster care licensing requirements must be met before foster children can be placed with a family.
Interstate Adoption
When prospective adoptive parents wish to adopt a child from another state, they must first get the approval from both states to relocate the child. Interstate adoptions to or from Nevada require the use of a Nevada child-placing or child welfare agency to facilitate the ICPC process. Interstate adoptions often require the services of child placing agencies and/or attorneys in both the receiving and sending states, which can increase the costs involved to finalize the adoption.
Adult adoption
If adults wish to establish the relationship of parent and child between themselves, they may petition the court for an adult adoption. The requirements for an adult adoption are that all parties must be 18+ years of age, and the adopting parties must be older than the adoptee. The adoptive parent cannot be married to the adoptee. The spouses of the Petitioners, if applicable, will also need to consent to the adult adoption in writing. Generally, the birth parents of the adopted adult do not need to be given notice of the adoption, and they are not required to consent to the adoption and no home study is required. A request for a name change may be included with the Petition for Adult Adoption if the requirements for a name change are met. The adult adoptee may request that their birth certificate be amended to change their name, if applicable, and to add the adopting parent(s) as their parent(s), if they choose to do so.
General Adoption Information
All adoption cases in Nevada are sealed by law.
The Petitioners may change the name of the child sought to be adopted if they choose to do so. The name change is included with the Petition for Adoption. After the adoption is finalized, a new birth certificate will be issued listing the Petitioners as the child’s parents and the child’s new name will be added, if applicable. The original birth certificate is sealed.
How long it takes to finalize an adoption varies greatly depending on how parental rights are surrendered, the type of adoption and the individual circumstances of each case. Some relative adoptions can be finalized within a month. A foster care adoption could take 1–3 years. An agency adoption is typically 6–9 months from placement.
Attorney’s fees and costs for the adoption case are in addition to the agency fees. KEMP & KEMP, Attorneys at Law typically charges a flat fee for adoption cases. Separate attorney’s fees and costs will be incurred for termination of parental rights (TPR) cases. Attorney’s fees are determined based on the complexity of the individual case and will be discussed at the consultation. Payment plans are available, but all attorney’s fees and costs must be paid in full before the TPR finalization hearing and/or the adoption finalization hearing. KEMP & KEMP, Attorneys at Law charges the State of Nevada reimbursement rate of $500.00 per child for “special needs” foster care adoptions plus nominal costs. The attorney’s fees are typically reimbursed to the adoptive parents approximately 30 days after the adoption is finalized as part of the adoption subsidy package, if not paid for directly by DFS.
KEMP & KEMP, Attorneys at Law does not handle international adoptions.
The Nevada Adoption Registry is available to birth parents and adopted children once they reach the age of 18+ years, if they wish to be identified and contacted by each other.
Assistance Available to Adoptive Families in Nevada
Nevada offers adoption assistance to qualifying families. Families adopting children from foster care can meet their child’s needs through adoption subsidies. A child’s history determines whether he or she qualifies for federal or state adoption assistance. Children determined to have special needs within the foster care system face barriers that make it harder to find placement. These barriers include:
- Children above 5 years of age
- Children in sibling groups of two or more placed together (typically, one child must be 3 or older)
- Children diagnosed with mental health disorders, disabilities, or medical conditions
- Victims of abuse or neglect
- Children who are at-risk for developing complications later in life due to heritable behavioral or mental health concerns, prenatal substance abuse, and other factors that imply a need for future intervention services
Families qualifying for adoption subsidies and benefits may be able to get help through monthly stipends, medical care, mental health services, assistance with nonrecurring adoption expenses, case management programs, support groups, and parental training classes.
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