Related Words

Adoption: Legal process where parental rights are transferred from birth parents to adoptive parents.

Foster Adoption Placement: Foster placement of a child, with adoption being the final goal, once all legal requirements have been met. The couple must be certified as suitable to adopt with their home licensed as a fo . . . View Full Definition

Foster-Adoption: A child placement in which birth parents' rights have not yet been severed by the court or in which birth parents are appealing the court's decision but foster parents agree to adopt the chi . . . View Full Definition

Intercountry or International Adoption: The adoption of a child who is a citizen of one country by adoptive parents who are citizens of a different country.

Equitable Adoption: The legal process used in some states to establish inheritance rights of a child, when the prospective adoptive parent had entered into an oral contract to adopt the child and the child was . . . View Full Definition

Independent Adoption: An adoption arranged privately by a non-licensed third party (i.e., doctor or lawyer) or between the birth family and adoptive parents.

Decree of Adoption: A legal order that finalizes an adoption.

Consent to Adopt or Consent to Adoption: Legal permission for the adoption to proceed.

Cooperative Adoption: Adoption in which adopted child has access to both adoptive parents and birth parents who participate in decisions affecting their life.

De Facto Adoption: A legal agreement to adopt a child according to the laws of a particular state which will result in a legal adoption process once the adoption petition is filed with the appropriate court: a . . . View Full Definition