When you have an open adoption, do you have to sign your rights away?

julie j

Hi Brai,

In all adoptions, open & closed, the parents relinquish their parental rights or have them terminated by a court. After an adoption is finalized, it is considered permanent. The adoptive parents assume all legal rights & responsibilities for the child. The child will be issued an altered birth certificate stating that the adoptive parents (or the sister in this case) gave birth to the child, and the original will be sealed away forever in most U.S. states even from the child him/herself.

What is called open adoption is really up to the adopting parents as to whether or not they honor whatever arrangements they originally agreed to. The natural parents will have no legal rights to enforce anything after an adoption has been finalized. This point is often unclear to all parties before relinquishments. I'm sorry to report that in many cases, open adoptions are changed to closed ones for any reason the adoptive parents choose, and there is no legal recourse for the natural parents.

You don't mention what the reason is for the parents needing to sign away their rights. In some cases, temporary guardianship may be preferable. There is also the possibility of family just helping each other without transferring away legal parental rights. To answer your question as to whether or not he can still see the child if he signs away his parental rights, the answer is no, not unless the new parent agrees to that and then follows through with it. I would not count on that happening. If the child's mother doesn't want to parent and the father does, then the child's father gets full custody and he can file for support from her. It is not possible for the mother to make her sister a legal adoptive parent if the child's father does not want that to happen.

If it's true he wants full custody, then they do not need to have their child adopted by anyone else. He should look into daycare while he is at work instead of having his child adopted by anyone. Exceptions being of course if he is a danger to the child or has issues such as addiction that would interfere with his ability to be a father. From what you have told us, it does not appear that adoption would be a necessary or a wise move in this case if he loves his child & wants to stay a part of his/her life. Hope this information is helpful.

julie j
reunited adoptee

anastasia beaverhausen-the real1

once he signs, he loses ALL rights. open adoption is not enforceable.

my cousins did an "open" adoption with a contract. after they got the kid, they left town and never looked back.

Possum

Open adoptions are not law enforceable - once the papers are signed - the adoptive parents can do as they please - and MANY close up the adoption fast.
Make sure the bio parents read this brochure -
http://www.cubirthparents.org/booklet.pdf

â™¥â™¥Ritaâ™¥â™¥

On your boyfriend's behalf I will say that he could take custody and work if he had daycare or help from a family member. Many single parents around the world work and parent.

You said his ex-girl is going to sign her rights away on her "sister"...I may be missing something here but am confused.

An open adoption is what the previous poster said. I will add they are hard to enforce and about as worthy as the paper they are written on....yes, he would have to relinquish his rights in order for an adoption to occur

JuStRaCh

yes, you do.

leila

if you allow someone to adopt your child you have to sign your rights away. Sister cannot adopt if he does not sign away his rights as well. but she could be the childs legal guardian if he chooses not to sign away his rights. He needs to talk to a lawyer. If he signs away his rights he can ONLY see her if the adoptive parent decides to let him. Even if it's an open adoption Adoptive Mom can say no viistation, even if she agreed to it before the adoption. If he wants full custody he can just pay a daycare center, babysitter or the sister to keep the child while he is at work. Lots of single moms do it, he could do it too. He has to decide what would be best for the child.

denverlmc

An open adoption is an adoption in which there is a possibility of contact between the birth parents and the adoptive family and child. The degrees of contact in open adoptions vary quite widely, with most parents preferring to set out expectations in a contract before the adoption is finalized. At a minimum, the contract should spell out the level of contact expected by both sides, with clear minimums and maximums established to set clear boundaries. It is also a good idea to check out the adoption laws in your state.

Sam B

yes, an open adoption is signing your rights away, but the adoptive parents having your name and information and vice versa. If his ex doesn't want to parent the baby, he can get full custody of his child.

div2wice

In an open adoption the biological parents will be a part of the childs life, but mostly as the "birth parents". They will not have any legal rights to the child, meaning they cannot make any legal decisions, etc.
He would be able to visit or get updates on the child, its all based upon the specific agreement in the open adoption. He needs to make his requests known to the adoptive parents so that they can take them into consideration when drawing up the papers.

Carnie C

how do you sign away rights to your sister? isn't that something parents have to do???

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