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Experienced Texas Adoption Attorneys

Work With a Skilled Adoption Attorney in Texas

Adopting a child is one of the happiest and most rewarding times in a person’s life. However, the journey from deciding to adopt to welcoming a child into your home involves many steps. Our team of family adoption lawyers in Texas is here to support you every step of the way. At Goranson Bain Ausley, you can connect with an adoption lawyer in Texas who has assisted couples in Austin, Dallas, Fort Worth, Granbury, Midland, Plano, and San Antonio through many private adoptions.

You can choose from several avenues for adoption, and our Texas adoptions attorneys can detail the benefits and drawbacks associated with each. Their in-depth knowledge of the adoption process can help you choose the right path for your family. Our adoption attorneys in Austin, Dallas, Fort Worth, Granbury, Midland, Plano, and San Antonio can also help you create custom legal strategies for any potential hurdles including:

Developing legal guidelines for open/closed adoptions
Establishing safeguards for adoptees in relative adoptions
Responding to petitions for rights from biological parents and surrogates

Whether you work with our San Antonio adoption lawyers, our Dallas adoption lawyers, or any other team from our firm, you can rest assured that your adoption will be handled with skill, experience, and care.

Relative Adoptions

Adopting a relative like a grandchild, niece/nephew, or cousin is considered a relative adoption. While many families enter into kinship care relationships informally, a legally binding relative adoption requires the termination of the parental rights of both parents before beginning a standard adoption process. Our adoption lawyers in San Antonio or any of our other locations can help ensure that this is a smooth transition for you and your family.
Stepparent Adoptions

Stepparent adoption occurs when a new spouse petitions the court to become a legal parent of their child or children by marriage, and it’s the most common type of adoption in the United States. If both primary parents are still living with parental rights intact, the rights of one parent must be terminated before the process of a stepparent adoption can be initiated.
Infant Adoptions

Separate from a foster, or public, adoption of a baby, infant adoptions are usually private adoptions based on an agreement between birth parents who are voluntarily relinquishing their parental rights and the adoptive parent or parents. Ethical and compassionate adoption attorneys play a key role in protecting the rights of the birth family, the adoptive family, and the child involved in each private adoptions in Texas.
Foster Child Adoptions

Adopting a child out of foster care is a public adoption. A Goranson Bain Ausley adoption attorney in San Antonio, TX or any of our other locations can assist foster parents with meeting the requirements established by the Department of Family and Protective Services. Adoption attorneys can also represent foster parents at appeals hearings, case conferences, and court appearances.
International Adoptions

International adoptions are governed by strict state, federal, and international regulations. It is best to choose a Texas adoption agency that is Hague-accredited and licensed to execute adoptions in the country you have selected. Many agencies purport to handle all of the paperwork related to international adoption, but we recommend that families pursuing adoption from outside of the United States also engage a Texas adoption attorney to ensure that all citizenship requirements are met. Once you are home with your child, it is also beneficial to go through a re-adoption process. An international re-adoption is when a Texas court issues an order that gives your child a U.S.-issued birth certificate and creates a clear record of your child’s U.S. citizenship and your parent-child relationship.
LGBT Adoptions

Texas law allows married LGBT+ couples to follow the same adoption processes as heterosexual couples, regardless of the type of adoption. This includes surrogacy and the adoption of a partner’s biological child or children. If you and your partner are not married, it is likely that you will have to adopt as two single people jointly adopting the same child or children, with a six-month gap between the finalization of one parent’s adoption and the beginning of the second.
State (Interstate) Adoptions

To give children eligible for domestic adoption the best chances of finding a stable, caring home regardless of where they live, all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and the U.S. Virgin Islands are part of the Interstate Compact on the Placement of Children (ICPC), an agreement that ensures the stability and protects the rights of adopted children regardless of which state they were born/placed in. The ICPC establishes uniform processes for adoption across state lines, but each state still has its own unique regulatory requirements, so if you’re adopting in Texas, you’ll need the assistance of an experienced adoption attorney in Texas.

Issues Involved in the Decision to Adopt

The decision to adopt a child can be one of the most rewarding, joyous, and altruistic decisions in a person’s life. It can be the start of a richer, happier future for both parent and child.

A primary concern of couples who choose to adopt is consent. In addition, many decisions must be made about the level of contact, if any, the birth parents will have with the child after the finalization of the adoption.

Adoptions give rise to an array of complex legal issues, such as:

What happens if a biological parent or surrogate has second thoughts?
What if the biological parents reach out several years later and would like to see their child?
Can the biological parents petition for rights?
How do I choose the right adoption lawyer near me for my situation?
What are the legal guidelines for an open/closed adoption?
If adopting the child of a relative who cannot meet their parental obligations, what safeguards need to be in place?
What should adopting parents know about their rights and obligations before adopting a foster child, grandchild, or stepchild?

These are valid questions when considering adoption. But you don’t need to let the process intimidate you. A Texas adoption lawyer in Austin, Dallas, Fort Worth, Granbury, Midland, Plano, or San Antonio from Goranson Bain Ausley can walk you through all of these issues step by step, providing the legal and emotional support you need to extend your family.

How the Adoption Process Works in Texas

The process for private adoptions and adopting through the Department of Family and Protective Services (DFPS) have several differences, but all of the adoptions in Texas follow the same basic steps. In addition to meeting age requirements and being able to pass a criminal background check, you must be willing to go through every step in the adoption process.

These are the steps in the adoption process:

Information Meeting: This meeting informs you about the requirements and steps and lets you ask preliminary questions.
Preparation Meeting: Next, you meet with DFPS staff to further assess if adoption is right for you while allowing the staff to assess your qualifications.
Training: Texas provides a 35-hour Parent Resource Information Development Education (PRIDE) course that includes instruction regarding basic child care along with specific considerations for each prospective adoptive parent. Prospective adoptive parents also participate in three additional training and certification programs outside of the PRIDE program, each designed to further educate the adoptive parents about meeting the needs of their adoptive child.
Home Visit: Expect a home visit from a DFPS caseworker to review your personal history, lifestyle, experience caring for children, and many other factors to determine whether you are an appropriate candidate for adoption. Each member of your household, including other children, is interviewed so that a complete picture of the prospective family unit can be developed.

Each step you complete prior to beginning the adoption process prepares your family to bring a new child into your home and helps ensure a seamless integration with your family. These steps are basically the same for families who wish to open their homes to children in need of foster care.

Work With a Trusted Texas Adoption Attorney to Develop Your Plan

Meet Our Team

When you need accomplished adoption attorneys near you, you can trust the skilled legal team at Goranson Bain Ausley to help you create you family. We understand that the legal side of adoption can seem intimidating, but our experienced adoption lawyers in Dallas, Austin, Plano, Midland, Fort Worth, Granbury, and San Antonio can help make it as stress-free as possible. When you work with us, you will have experienced adoption lawyers in Texas by your side who can guide you through the process step by step. We can also help you compare the advantages and disadvantages of private adoptions versus going through an agency. An adoption attorney in Texas from our firm will assist you in creating an adoption strategy that is right for you and your family and provide all the legal and emotional support you need to extend your family.

Whether you need an adoption attorney in Dallas, Austin, Fort Worth, Granbury, Midland, Plano, or San Antonio, we can offer you comprehensive resources, an experienced team, and a strong commitment to helping you execute your adoption plan. Contact us today to schedule a consultation with an adoption attorney in Austin, Dallas, or any of our other convenient locations. We look forward to helping you with this exciting journey.

Meet Our Team