Adoption is a legal process which establishes a parent/child relationship between two people who are not otherwise related by blood. There are three sets of participants in an adoption: the petitioners (the adoptive parents, who are seeking to adopt the child); the child to be adopted; and the birth parents (the natural parents of the child to be adopted). Not only does the adoption create a new legal relationship between the adopted parents and the child, but it also severs or terminates any legal relationship existing between the child and his or her natural parents. It is, therefore, a significant legal, financial, social and emotional step for all parties involved.

While most adoptions involve children, occasionally petitioners may seek to adopt an adult (a person over the age of 18 years). Here we will deal primarily with the adoption of children under the age of 18, but the basic procedures discussed apply to all types of adoptions.

The decision to place a child for adoption may arise under a variety of circumstances. Occasionally, parents find it impossible to financially support their child or children. After considering other options, they may determine that placing their child for adoption is the most responsible course of action. More often, unwed mothers find that they are unable to assume the responsibilities of parenthood without the help of the child's father and feel that adoption would be in the best interest of their child.

The most common type of adoption is that in which a stepparent seeks to adopt the child or children of their current spouse. For example, this may occur when the natural parent remarries after the death of their former spouse or after a divorce where the other natural parent is willing to consent (agree) to the adoption. A similar situation may arise when a child is born out of wedlock and the natural parent later marries, with the stepparent desiring to adopt the child. These are known as stepparent adoptions.

All adoptions filed in the state of Missouri are governed by the same basic set of laws (called "statutes").Any person seeking to adopt must file a petition in the juvenile court of the county of one of the following places. The petition may be filed in the county in which (1) the person seeking to adopt resides; (2) the child sought to be adopted was born; (3) the child is located at the time of filing of the petition; or (4) either biological (birth) parents reside.

It is generally the practice that married persons jointly seek permission to adopt, although it is possible for individuals (whether married or unmarried) to petition the court. Missouri law requires that those seeking to adopt (petitioners) must be of good moral character and must possess the ability to care for, maintain and educate the child. The primary goal of each adoption proceeding is to promote the best interest and welfare of the child to be adopted.

Missouri adoption law has a strong preference for maintaining the anonymity of the participants in the adoption process. Access to adoption records is carefully restricted by state law in an effort to remove the process from public scrutiny. In many circumstances, the biological parents and the adoptive parents may know each other's identity. The law permits contact and communication between the biological and adoptive parents. This contact and communication is at the discretion of both the biological and adoptive parents prior to the adoption and after the adoption only at the discretion of the adoptive parents. Certain courts may have developed procedures for sharing of such identifying information, communication and contact. Your attorney or adoption agency will assist you in these procedures.

Even long after the adoption has been approved by the court, there are legal restrictions in Missouri on an adopted adult's ability to seek information regarding his or her natural parents. These procedures are another effort to protect the identity of natural parents who have placed their child for adoption, who may not wish to be tracked down by the child at a later date.

A child may be placed for adoption by the child's parents, the Division of Family Services (if the parental rights of the natural parents have been terminated by court order), by a licensed adoption agency or by an attorney, physician or clergyman. It is important to note that no transfer of actual custody for the purpose of an adoption may take place without prior court approval. If such a transfer is accomplished without prior court approval, criminal penalties may apply. Before such a placement will be approved by the court, an investigation must be completed by licensed social workers on both the adoptive parents and the birth parents. In addition, a background report on the biological parents must be prepared and furnished to the adoptive parents prior to the adoptive placement. In this way, the court assures that the best interests of the child are being considered.

There are strict regulations governing the types of expenses petitioners in an adoption proceeding can assume. Petitioners are only allowed to pay certain expenses authorized by law or approved by the court. These expenses may include: (1) medical expenses in connection with the birth or illness of the child; (2) counseling services for the biological parent or child; (3) cost for the suitability and placement studies; (4) legal expenses, court costs, travel expenses, and administrative expenses; (5) reasonable living expenses for the biological parents; (6) and any other services or items that the court finds reasonably necessary. Petitioners will be required to disclose any and all fees they have paid related to the adoption -- called an "accounting." If the petitioners have paid any expenses not allowed by law or approved by the court, or if the fees paid are unreasonable, the court may not approve the adoption.

Before a child may be adopted, the written consent of the natural parents must be obtained. Under certain circumstances, the consent of both natural parents may not be required. Such consent is not required of a natural parent:

Whose parental rights have been previously terminated pursuant to the law?

Who has previously consented to the future adoption of a child?

Whose identity is unknown and cannot be ascertained;

A man who has not been established to be the father and who denies paternity;

Who has a permanent and incurable mental condition which renders the parent unable to provide care for the child;

Who has for a period of six months abandoned or neglected the child who is one year of age or older (this period is 60 days if the child is under one year of age.)

Missouri law further provides that a man who is not presumed to be a father forfeits any rights if he does not establish his paternity prior to the birth of the child or within 15 days after the birth of the child.

If the person to be adopted is 14 years of age or older, his or her written consent to the adoption may be required. In an adoption involving a child who is 18 years of age or older, the written consent of the child is sufficient -- the consent of the biological parent is not required.

The adoption process under Missouri law is a two-step proceeding. The first step involves the transfer of legal custody of the child to the adoptive parents, and the second step is the actual adoption. Once the Petition for Transfer of Custody and Adoption is filed, the juvenile court appoints an attorney to act as guardian ad litem to represent the interest of the child who is to be adopted. Further, a social worker will be appointed to conduct a suitability report of the petitioners. A home study must also be conducted on the birth parents, and both these studies must be filed in the court before any hearings may be done by the same social workers. Most of this work will be completed far in advance of any hearing date, and often couples interested in adoption will have the home study completed even before they file a petition. The home studies should be updated upon the filing of a petition.

The purpose of the home study is to ensure that the birth parents knowingly and voluntarily placed the child for adoption; that the adoptive parents (petitioners) have the ability to meet the needs of the child to be adopted; and that the adoptive parents (the petitioners) are fully informed regarding the socioeconomic and medical background of the child to be adopted. Once the suitability reports are completed, the social worker will be asked to make a recommendation to the court regarding the propriety of granting the petitioners temporary custody. During the six- month period of custody following the initial placement by the court, the social worker will remain in contact with the petitioners to make sure there are no problems, and will report to the court at the final adoption hearing about the progress of both the child and the adoptive parents. In a stepparent adoption, the court may determine that a home study is not necessary. Typically, this decision depends on whether the non-adopting parent consents (or agrees) to the adoption.

Since the social worker who prepares the home study will be required to testify on behalf of the petitioners in the adoption proceeding, it is important that the social worker have experience in adoptions, and that he or she be familiar with local procedures.

Before the court enters a final decree of adoption, the petitioners must have had actual legal custody of the child for a period of at least six months. At the conclusion of the six-month period, a final adoption hearing is held. At this hearing, the court determines whether it is fitting and proper that the adoption be allowed. Again, the social worker who prepared the reports will be required to make a recommendation to the court . When the court finds that all legal requirements have been met, a judgment of adoption is entered. At this point, the court's involvement with the family is concluded. For the purposes of a step--parent adoption, lawful custody is deemed to begin with the marriage of the parents. The parents must be married for at least six months prior to the granting of the step-parent adoption.

Once the final decree of adoption is entered by the court, the court clerk sends to the Bureau of Vital Statistics of the Department of Social Services a Certificate of Decree of Adoption. Once the bureau receives the certificate, the child's original birth certificate is sealed and a new birth certificate is prepared, upon which the adoptive parents appear as the natural parents of the child. Copies of this document are forwarded either to the petitioners or to their attorney.

When a child is adopted, all relations and rights between a child and its biological parents are terminated, and the child is legally viewed as if it were the natural child of the adoptive parents. Specifically, the biological parents no longer have any rights to have contact with or information about the child, although sometimes the adoptive parents will agree to maintain some contact. Further, the child has no right to inherit from his or her biological parents. In a stepparent adoption, the grandparent (the parent of the non-adopting natural parent) may continue to have visitation rights even after the adoption is granted.