Every state has its own adoption laws. Some of them are the same, and some of them are different.
“Adoption is a process whereby a person assumes the parenting of another, usually a child, from that person’s biological or legal parent or parents. Legal adoptions permanently transfer all rights and responsibilities, along with filiation, from the biological parents to the adoptive parents.”
Virginia adoption laws
In Virginia, people can adopt whether single or married and in most instances, regardless of race, age, income, or other factors. However, there are adoption laws that must be followed.
- Married people must file adoption papers jointly as a couple
- Birth parents must consent to the adoption, with some exceptions.
- Children must also agree to be adopted if they are 14 or older.
- The Department of Social Services must consent to agency adoptions, and the private child-placing agency must consent to non-agency adoptions.
- The child must live in the home for at least six months before the adoption can be finalized.
- The child must also be visited at least three times or more before the adoption can be finalized.
- Virginia law accounts for the expense of having a child. Therefore, birth parent expenses that can legally be covered include pregnancy-related medical expenses and insurance premiums.
- Adopted children can receive a share in an estate under intestacy rules. However, if a child is adopted into a completely new family, that child can no longer receive a share in their biological parents’ estates.