Wheat Ridge Stepparent Adoption Lawyers
Making things right for children is a priority of The Pearman Law Firm. One of the ways we do this is by helping families give children the security of a loving home through legal adoption. We represent adoptive parents in Wheat Ridge, Lakewood, Arvada and other communities in the Denver metropolitan area.
Our lawyers handle three types of adoption in Colorado:
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Stepparent adoptions: Stepparent adoptions can take place without consent of the noncustodial parent when the child has had no contact or support from that parent for a year or longer. In most stepparent adoptions, the biological parent is out of the picture and the stepparent adoption simply gives legal standing to a parent-child relationship that already exists.
In September 2010 Daniel Westhoff argued a step-parent adoption case before the Colorado Supreme Court. The court of appeals had previously overturned the original contested step-parent adoption won by Shaun Pearman and The Pearman Law Firm was seeking to have the adoption upheld before the Colorado Supreme Court.
Almost a year after oral arguments before the Supreme Court, on September 12, 2011, the Colorado Supreme Court ruled in favor of The Pearman Law Firm. In the area of adoption, and more specifically step-parent adoption, there are not many Colorado Supreme Court or appeals court cases. This win by the Pearman Law Firm ads a landmark ruling to a very small body of law, thus making a very substantial addition to Colorado adoption law. -
Kinship adoptions: Relatives who may adopt a child include grandparents, brothers, sisters, half-siblings, aunts, uncles and first cousins. In a typical kinship adoption, the biological parents are either missing or unfit to be parents due to drug use or mental illness. In most cases, the child is already being cared for by the relative. The child is available for adoption without consent of the parents after the child has had no support or contact with the biological parents for a year or longer.
- Custodial adoptions: Custodial adoptions are a way to avoid the astronomical costs of going through an adoption agency to adopt a child who is not related to you. For a custodial adoption, the prospective adoptive parents must have had physical or legal custody of the child for one year or longer. This can be done by agreement with the child's biological parents
In some cases, the biological parent does not wish to terminate parental rights. Our lawyers have handled numerous contested cases when adoption is in the child's best interest.
An alternative to private adoptions: If you know someone who wants to place a baby up for adoption, a custodial adoption is a great way to place the child directly with a family that the pregnant mother chooses. This is a great way to prevent abortions, and our attorneys feel so strongly about this that we will handle the case for a very low fee. We can assist in getting the prospective adoptive family legal custody and then after the year passes, assist with the custodial adoption.
For More Information About Adoption
To talk to our Arvada adoption lawyers, call 720-259-9528 for a free initial phone consultation. We speak Spanish, Portuguese and Arabic.
