Frequently Asked Questions

     Congratulations- Welcome to this new phase of your life- Each family arrives at this point via their own unique journey.

     As you prepare to move forward it will be important to have "good" information on your various options. One way to help you focus your search is for you to met with an experienced adoption professional.

     Our office offers one hour in office introductory meetings for prospective adoptive parents at $ 250.00. An initial half-hour telephone consultation is available free of charge.

There are many kinds of adoptions and many possible issues in adoption. What your adoption will cost depends upon the type of adoption, ease of obtaining service, whether there is an objection to the adoption, the rules of the local court and how cooperative all the parties and court are willing to be. 

When you meet with your attorney, this is a reasonable question to ask. Oftentimes, your attorney can provide you an estimated range which will take into account the particular facts of your case. 

Our office charges an hourly rate based upon the time involved in resolving your case. Please feel free to discuss costs at your initial appointment. 

Typically, home study costs range from Zero Dollars for a public agency study to Four-Thousand Dollars for an expedited private study. 

The law permits the prospective adoptive parents to pay some of the birthmothers’ expenses including medical and legal expenses, counseling/assessment costs, and up to Three-Thousand Dollars in living expenses. The family will also be responsible for their own legal expenses. 

In a public agency adoption, most of these costs are covered by the agency. In a private, custodian, relative or stepparent adoption, these costs are covered by the prospective adopters. However, public funds may be available to reimburse the pre-adoptive family. 

 The time is based upon a number of factors. The law requires a home assessment/study. How long this will take depends upon who does your home study. The finalizing court often directs who will do the home study. 

 In the case of a newborn adoption- the birthparents cannot place until the child is at least 72 hours old. The petition can then be filed.

 The earliest an adoption can be heard is 30 days after the filing of the petition. Often times the case is not heard until a later time due to the court’s docket. 

 The adoption cannot be finalized until the child has been in the home of the petitioners for Six months. 

In Ohio any adult or minor married to an adult can adopt. Both single and married persons can adopt. In some cases a married person can adopt without their spouse. Age( over 18) is not a disqualification to adopt.

A potential adopter must pass a home study or home assessment in order to adopt. The study is intended to answer the question of whether the adoption is in the child's best interest.  

When a petition for the adoption of a child is filed the law requires that the adopters provide a home study or a home assessment. A home study is a report on the adopters and their home.

Who does the home study often depends on the preference of the finalizing court. Some courts have their own team. Others insist that a certain worker or agency do the study. The assessors have to have completed special training to do the study and be certified by the state of Ohio.

The home study will involve a biographical narrative about the proposed adopters, a financial statement, a record check of criminal, child abuse, psychiatric records, five letters of reference, proof of income and proof of marriage and fingerprints. The study can take two weeks to several months to complete. The cost also varies widely from $ 600.00 to $ 4,000.00. 

If there is negative information - it may be possible to work around the issue in question. Please consult your attorney.

In all adoptions, where the parental rights have not been terminated, the biological parents must be formally advised/notified of the adoption hearing. The formal Notice is called Service of Summons. Typically, the Notice is sent to the birthparents by the court via Certified mail. There are alternative methods to obtain service including, sheriffs service, publication in a local paper, or a process server. 

It may be difficult to obtain service if the biological parent has not been in recent contact with the Petitioners. Service may take considerable effort and multiple attempts. The court may insist that the Petitioner undertake a search for the absent parent through family, friends, former employers, and the internet. The adoption hearing cannot occur until service is obtained. The hearing date will be continued if service has not been successfully completed.  

The right to raise one's biological children is a fundamental right in our society. The state can not deprive a parent of this right without a compelling reason. When the state or other petitioner believes they have such a reason there must be a hearing to confirm their belief.

At this hearing the parent can present evidence to demonstrate otherwise. The parent in order to take advantage of the hearing must be advised of the time and place of the hearing and have a chance to present evidence and cross examines the witnesses. This is called "due process." The notice is called a summons or service. Without service the court can not hear an adoption.

There are many rules on have service is to be had. It can be very technical. Cases are sometimes must be continued if service has not been made. This is frustrating for the petitioners.

Once an adoption is complete the child is yours just as your bio child is yours. Any decisions as to his/her care is pretty much up to you. If you believe the child would benefit from contact -- that is your choice. If you prefer no contact that is also up to you.

Ohio law allows the birth parent  to obtain non-identifying information about you. Some families choose to arrange an open adoption in which there may be ongoing contact. However, any promise as to openness is non-binding under Ohio Law.

If you are undecided you may wish to talk with a counselor or meet a family doing openness. With the internet and Ancestry.com, the child  will likely have access to their birth family's  identifying at some point in the future.

This can be a very challenging time emotionally and you need to gather reliable information on your options. It is important to assist the birth mother in finding the counseling and legal resources she will need. Your future rights and opportunities as to the child may depend upon your involvement during the pregnancy. 

You also need good information. If it appears that you and the mother are not in agreement as to the plan - you will need to take concrete action to protect your interests and rights. You need to address the situation now and not wait for the birth. Time is of the essence.

Our office works with both birthfathers and birthmothers. We stand ready to assist.

First- Congratulations! It's nice that your son and his girlfriend trust you enough to share their news with you.

Secondly- This is their dilemma. Even if the couple are minors, for the purposes of working on an  adoption, Ohio law treats them as adults. Additionally, the couple will face many issues and would benefit from objective counseling and legal advice. Because of your role in the situation the parents may be better able to hear advice from an outside source. Help your son and his girlfriend  find this resource.

 Finally, your son's interest may not be the same as those of the birthmother. Your son may need his own attorney to help protect him from being shut out of the situation. There are concrete steps he must take to prevent this from happening. These steps need to be taken as soon as possible- prior to the birth. Encourage your son to be proactive. My office can assist young birthparents with referrals and legal advice. Each situation is unique and merits individual consideration. My office stands ready help birthparents facing such a crisis.

- Uncontested: an uncontested adoption occurs when no one has filed an objection to the adoption. In these cases, everyone is on board with the adoption. 

- Contested: A contested adoption occurs when a birthparent, legal parent, or putative father, files an objection to the adoption. In these cases, the Court will set a hearing where both sides can present evidence as to why they believe the objector’s consent to the adoption is or is not required. Often times these cases require additional time and effort.  

No. However the child must have been in the petitioner's home for six months prior to finalization. At the end of the 6 months, the assessor does a second report summarizing the child's adjustment in the home.

Guardianships and adoptions are both under the purview of the probate court. 

Guardianships are generally voluntary arrangements. In guardianship, the parental rights of the birthparents remain intact. 

Parents retain rights of visitation. Parents can terminate guardianship at will, but the guardian can contest a termination and have the case referred to the juvenile court for further action. 

If the guardianship is terminated, the guardians lose all decision making and association rights with the child. 

Guardians are generally not eligible for adoption subsidies or grants. However, a guardian has the right to bring an adoption. If the adoption occurs, a subsidy may be available. However, the subsidy would be at a lower rate than that of a child in state custody. 

In a Legal Custody placement, the child resides with the legal custodian without the rights or the birthparents being terminated. While the legal custody statute indicates that legal custody is intended to last until the child is an adult, legal custody can be set aside and an action for enforcement of residual parental rights can be brought by the birthparent(s). Residual parental rights include visitation, consent for medical treatment and choice of religion. The cost of defending such actions is on the custodians. 

While an adoption action can be brought by the custodians if the birthparent(s) abandoned the child- the costs and proof of abandonment rests with the custodian. In a custodian adoption, the adoptive family does NOT receive access to the subsidies, increased adoption grant, and post-adoption services that are available to adoptive families.  

Children’s Services agencies may prefer legal custody actions because they are generally quicker, more cost effective, and less involved for the agency. The agencies will often try to “sell” legal custody arrangements to Foster Parents by suggesting they are less open to challenge at the time of placement from birth family members and others offering alterative placements. However, both legal custody arrangements and adoption actions must be approved by a court and are open to challenge. 

If at sometime during the child’s minority, the child has to return to Childrens Services Custody- for example, in order to obtain state funded residential treatment- the legal custodians no longer have a right to participate in the decision-making process for the child. Additionally, they no longer have a right to ask for the child to be returned to their home upon completion of treatment. They become legal strangers to the child. As up to 25% of legal custody placements experience disruption, this is a serious concern. 

In adoption- parental rights are terminated and subsequent court actions by birthparents are generally not a possibility. The cost of the parental termination is borne by the State. 

The family has access to the full range of adoption subsidies and grants. Regardless of any out of home placement, the adoptive parents retain their role in the child’s life. 

 For additional information, please feel free to contact Attorney Eisenman. 

If the child to be adopted is over 11, the child's consent is necessary. The consent must be given in open court before the magistrate or judge. Generally, the judge speaks to the child one on one before accepting the consent.

Generally, the answer is no. When you sign on to adopt - the relationship is intended to last for the family's join lifetime.

However, not all adoptions last throughout the child's minority. Some children have significant limitations and handicaps. Some children have behavior issues which may put the adoptive family at risk at risk. 

Nationally approximately 25% of all adoptions end in out of home placement. The local Children's Services board may offer post adoption services. The adoptive parents are expected to utilize such services prior to asking that the adoption be dissolved. You may wish an attorney's help in documenting the issues and negotiating with Children's Services. Often Children's Services will threaten to seek expediential child support. However, there are provisions which protect adoptive parents.

Other families may opt to seek a second placement or re-home the child. Such efforts must be approached carefully. However, this can be done ethically.

The Ohio Putative Father Registry was established as a way for potential fathers to exercise a right to a child that may be placed for adoption. Any person may register as a putative father from the time they have intercourse with the mother until 15 days after the child has been born. If a father fails to register within this time period, he no longer has the opportunity to exercise his potential right as a putative father.  

It is important to note that simply registering with the Putative Father Registry does NOT inherently give a person parental right. Please contact our office to hear more about your potential rights. 

In order to have a say in the adoption, a putative father must not abandon the mother or minor child and must provide support for the minor child. If the Putative father fails to do so, his consent to the adoption may not be required.