The Steps to a Successful Adoption

If you’re seriously thinking about adopting a child, here are some of the things you’ll want or need to do to improve your chances of a successful adoption:

• Learn as much as you can about the adoption process: You’ll have lots of options—domestic vs. international adoption, open vs. closed adoption, special needs adoptions. Check out adoption agency websites, look for books and magazines—you may even want to participate in an adoption support group.
• Select an agency: You can adopt without an agency, but the process can be complex and an agency will be able to help you move more smoothly toward your goal. It’s best to look at more than one potential agency. Ask about fees, how long the process will take, if the agency specializes in certain types of children.
• Complete a home study: An agency will require a home study, an assessment of your fitness to be a parent. The agency will visit your home, gather income information, and obtain background checks.
• Locate a child—Your agency will typically handle this, although you can customarily be involved in the search. Adoption agencies typically work with both adoptive parents and birth parents, so they usually have a network to help locate a child.
• Finalize your adoption—In a domestic adoption, your child customarily comes into your home before the adoption is finalized. You then file an intent to adopt, which is approved by the court. In most international adoptions, you must formally complete the adoption before the child can leave his or her home country.

Contact Adoption Attorneys Cofsky & Zeidman, LLC

At the law office of Cofsky & Zeidman, LLC, our lawyers bring more than 25 years of experience to every matter we handle. Attorney Donald C. Cofsky has personally handled more than 1,500 adoption proceedings since joining the bar in 1974. Attorney Bruce D. Zeidman has protected the interests of clients in state and federal courts in New Jersey and Pennsylvania since 1984. We understand the challenges you face, and can help you identify all your options so that you can make good decisions that are in your best long-term interests.

Contact our office online or call us at (856) 429-5005 in Haddonfield, NJ, at (856) 429-5005 in Woodbury, NJ, or in Philadelphia, PA, at (856) 429-5005.