Adoption is a legal procedure which establishes a new family relationship between the adopting parents and the child who is being adopted. After the completion of the adoption process, the adopting parents have the same rights, duties, and responsibilities to the child as the birth-parents would have had.
Some general rules apply to adoption proceedings. A single or divorced person, or a couple (unmarried or same-sex) can adopt a child. However, if the adopting persons are married, both the husband and wife must join in the petition unless they have been separated for over a year. A child who is over the age of fourteen years must agree to being adopted.
There are several different types of adoptions such as (a) related adoptions; (b) agency adoptions; (c) unrelated non-agency adoptions; (d) foreign adoptions and (e) adult adoptions.
Adoptions in Illinois are regulated by the Illinois Adoption Act, which outlines the procedures which must be followed and the rights of all of the people involved in the adoption.
Please contact our office for more information on how to proceed on an adoption. We offer free phone consultations on Adoption or other family law matters at 630-635-5555.