Deciding to adopt a child is one of the most important decisions you will make. Not surprisingly, it can be a very difficult decision to make. In considering adoption, you need to address a number of physical, emotional and legal issues.

Because of the complexity of the process, many people are reluctant to adopt. However, the right information can help to make the decision a little easier. To properly consider adoption, you need to have an understanding of adoption, and the adoption process.

A simple adoption definition is, adoption is the process of creating a permanent legal relationship between a child and a couple, or single adult. In many adoptions, a childless couple has been matched with an orphan, but there are many unique adoption scenarios. Either way, adoption is the process of matching a child with their adoptive parent(s).

Because adoption is a legal process, it goes much further than simply making suitable family matches. Parental rights and responsibilities are given to the adopting parents, and the adoptive child is granted the legal, emotional and social rights and responsibilities of a natural family member.

Upon completion of the adoption process, the child becomes legal offspring of the adopting parent(s), and has the same rights of any biological child, including inheritance rights.

Adoption finalization includes court proceedings to identify the biological parents of the child, and ensure that their rights are not violated. In doing so, the result is a fair, lawful and legal adoption that can withstand any external conflicts.

The difficulty of determining biological parentage varies, depending on state law, and the circumstances of the adoption. One frequent scenario consists of a child who is a ward of the court–they are orphans, or the rights of their biological parents have been terminated by the courts.

Another scenario includes the adoption of an infant born to a teenage single mother, and the termination of the rights of the biological parents is done within the same court proceedings to finalize the adoption.

In the process of adoption finalization, the family court judge reviews all the gathered information about the child, their biological parents, and the adoptive parents. This information can include:

* the home study results

* an adoptive parent(s) evaluation, which includes an assesment of their ability to care for and raise the child

* if available, reports from pre-adoption counseling

* notes and recommendations from the caseworker

and any other information requested by the judge.

The following groups of people generally attend the adoption proceedings:

* the adoptive parents and their attorney

* the biological parent(s) and their adoption attorney

* the child or children being adopted

* the legal advocate for the adoptive child

* the child’s caseworker

* the adoptive parents’ and the biological parents’ caseworker(s).

In the presence of the people listed above, the family court judge renders his decision — either approval or disapproval of the petition for adoption. If the adoption petition is approved, the adoption is final, and an Adoption Decree is issued.