Remember when the child you adopted was an infant, newly into your home. Every day was filled with wonder and discovery, every moment seemed to bring a new level of joy and fulfillment. Now that child has grown into a teenager, and everything seems off kilter. All the happy times from the first 10-12 years […]

Are you interested in adopting a child with special needs? The process and the outcome may differ significantly from the adoption of a child without special needs. Here are the steps to take to give yourself the best chance for success: Work with an agency that specializes in this type of adoption—Don’t work with an […]

If you are contemplating adopting a child, either to start or build a family, you want to take some time before you get too far into the process to determine if it’s the right step for you. Here are some ways you can be more certain you’re doing the right thing. Educate yourself—There are lots […]

In a bizarre case in New Jersey, the mother of an 18-year-old girl has (so far) successfully used adult adoption to circumvent a court’s custody order. Evidence indicates that the woman and her new spouse filed the documents and completed the adoption without telling the girl’s biological father, who had been granted physical custody. According […]

Maybe you’ve been unable to have a child biologically, or you’ve just decided that you’d like to build a family by providing a good home for a child in need. But you’re concerned about the costs of adoption, as you’ve heard tales of couples spending tens of thousands of dollars to bring a child into […]

If you live in New Jersey and you are interested in starting or building a family through the adoption process, you have a number of options available to you. Here are some of the alternatives to consider: An agency adoption or a private adoption — There is no requirement that you use an adoption agency […]

If You Fall at the Hospital, Is It Medical Malpractice? When you have to go to the hospital, you expect that you won’t suffer additional injury because of the negligence of hospital personnel. But what if you fall while at the hospital? Would that be considered medical malpractice or just ordinary negligence, a slip and […]

Effective January 1, 2017, any adult in New Jersey who was adopted as a child will have the right to learn who their birth parents were, unless those birth parents request that their names be removed from their child’s original birth certificate. Parents who put children up for adoption after August 1, 2015, however, may […]

If you’ve recently adopted a child, you may have a new perspective on the holidays. You may look at it as a time of joy, a time to celebrate your new family. But your adopted child may not be able to share fully in your holiday cheer. Here are some tips to help your adopted […]

So you’ve started the adoption process and it’s your first time. You know you have to go through a “home study,” but you’re not certain the full extent of that part of the process. Does the case worker or agency representative want to know about the physical home, the emotional home, or all of the […]