Many attorneys specialize in a certain areas of law. Some work in family law, others work in criminal law, corporate law or personal injury law, and then they find a sub-specialty within their field. For example, most of the family lawyers that specialize in divorce and child custody would also know adoption law, but only a select few will become adoption attorneys.
What is an adoption attorney?
Anyone who has every gone through the process of adopting a child, particularly an infant adoption, will know how important it is to hire an experienced adoption attorney. Depending on the type of adoption you choose to pursue, your lawyer will be there to help you with a variety of insights into the process. For example, if you plan to adopt a child internationally with the help of an adoption agency, you may only need an adoption attorney to review the paperwork and provide a general level of assistance with interpreting international adoption laws. However, if you plan to adopt a child privately without the assistance of an agency, you may be thoroughly leaning on your adoption attorney throughout every phase of the adoption process.
In your first meeting with an adoption attorney, he or she should outline the legal costs usually associated with adoption and ensure you are aware of the cost of private adoption. In cases where the adoption is between family members, by a stepparent or grandparent of the child, your adoption attorney will explain the transfer of parental rights and take steps to make the process run smoothly. Lastly, an adoption lawyer monitors all of the paperwork that is filed in conjunction with the state court system overseeing the matter.
Hiring an adoption attorney
Finding a family lawyer who specializes in adoption is just the start of the hiring process. Before deciding on a lawyer, prospective parents should interview several adoption lawyers to determine which one is the best fit. Find out how many adoption cases they have handled in the past year. How many were infant adoptions, international adoptions, stepparent adoptions and so forth.
Finally, your adoption attorney should give you a realistic timeline that outlines the adoption process from start to finish. Sometimes an adoption can take a lot longer than expected, involving mountains of paperwork, visits from a social worker and more. When it is time to hire an adoption attorney in Colorado Springs, contact the Marrison Law Firm.