Parties to an Adoption

• Author: Jeffrey Kasky; Robert Andrew Kasky
• Pages: 3-11

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CHAPTER

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Parties to an Adoption

Generally speaking, there are three primary parties to each adoption: the child, the prospective adoptive

family, and the birth parent(s). These parties are not always “parties” to the case, as the term is used in the

law, but they are the participants in the process.

The Child

No doubt, adoption is all about helping a child acquire a permanent family and a secure, stable upbringing.

The child’s interests are paramount, and everything that happens in the process feeds into this mandate.

Upon completion of the adoption in court, the adoptee becomes the legal child of a new family which, going

forward, has all rights, duties, and responsibilities for the child’s welfare.

The benefits to the adoptee are many as he or she acquires a relatively permanent family (subject to

the variety of issues, such as divorce, that would make such a family nonpermanent); relative emotional,

social, and financial security; and the opportunity to develop emotional bonds with parents and, perhaps,

siblings, that would not have existed had the child not been adopted. Every case will offer its own specific

and unique variety of benefits to the child.

Public policy favors adoption of children whose parents’ rights have been terminated – voluntarily

or involuntarily – versus a child being an “orphan” or ward of the state. Since most adoptees are placed

with families with adequate financial resources, the chances of an adoptee becoming homeless or subject

to a state’s foster or welfare programs are greatly diminished, and thus, society is benefitted by adoption

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