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New adoption laws signed into effect

On Behalf of | May 1, 2014 | Uncategorized

No matter what the reason or situation for an adoption in Houston, there can be many concerns for both an adoptive parent and a biological parent. Emotional and legal adoption issues can be complicated and even overwhelming at times. People who are considering involvement in any adoption may want to learn about their local laws to understand the processes as the laws can vary from state to state. It can be interesting to watch changing laws in other states as sometimes that can have a rippling effect.

A currently running media story has reported on new laws that have been signed into effect by the governor of Michigan focused on streamlining the adoption process for all parties. According to the news article, one of the bills focuses on the adoption rights of unmarried fathers and works to clarify them. No specific details were given as to how the bill clarifies the rights, however.

Another one of the new laws cuts the time needed to finalize the adoption of an infant under the age of 12 months in half. Previously, a period of six months was required to make such an adoption final. Now this can happen in a matter of only three months. A third law gives a biological parent a period of five days during which he or she can change the decision to terminate parental rights. This law also allows people to voluntarily consent to processing an adoption out of court. In the article, additional legislation was referred to but no details were provided.

When considering adoption, the best interests of the child involved should be the primary goal. The advice of an attorney who knows a state’s adoption laws can be one way that parents can ensure a positive process and outcome.

Source: Chron.com, “Snyder signs legislation to speed up adoptions,” April 15, 2014

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