Adoption Law Handbook

Adoption is a process that can require both time and patience. In handling an adoption case, the lawyer guides the client through the various types of adoptions, identifying and determining the applicable laws to ensure the family can legally finalize the adoption in that jurisdiction. This updated deskbook details the complexities of U.S. domestic adoption law, policy, and practice, and considers issues involved with international adoptions. Written by Jennifer Fairfax, an experienced family lawyer whose practice is focused entirely on adoption and reproduction law, this book provides the fundamentals of the adoption process and guidance on practical issues on each step in the process, including over 200 pages of forms and appendices available online for download. The book covers the primary types of adoption: domestic private/independent adoptions, domestic agency adoptions, and international adoptions. Spanning the full range of legal issues impacting each type of adoption, including Hague, ICPC, ICWA, special needs adoptions and how to get the client from intake to finalization, the book also covers home study, adoption cost and financing, open adoption records, and disruption, among other topics.