Skip to main content

Are you a legal professional? Visit our professional site

Please enter a legal issue and/or a location

The Different Types of Adoption

Adoption is a major life-changing event in which you welcome a new member to your family. And while the financial and legal responsibilities of parenthood end when the child reaches the age of majority (typically 18), adoptive families are a lifetime commitment. Therefore, it's important to do your research before you start the adoption process.

There are several different types of adoption or providing foster care before adoption, which you may want to consider as you think about growing your family. Read on to learn more about the most common types of adoption available.

Adopting Through an Agency

Adoption agencies can be a public agency or a private agency regulated by the state and licensed to place children with prospective adoptive parents. Public adoption agencies typically handle children who are wards of the state, often because they've been abandoned, orphaned or abused, or are older children. 

Private adoption agencies are often run by charities and social service organizations and typically place children who have been brought to the agency by parents or expectant parents seeking to give their child up for adoption.

Adopting Independently

One of the other types of adoption involves a direct arrangement between birth mother (and sometimes the birth father) and adoptive parents, sometimes using a go-between such as a doctor or member of the clergy. Because of the delicate nature of independent adoption, it's probably a good idea for the adoptive parents to hire an attorney to handle the paperwork. Not all states allow independent adoptions, and many states regulate them extensively, so check your state's laws before exploring this option.

One variety of independent adoption is often referred to as "open adoption," where the biological parents maintain some form of limited contact even after adoption, though all parental rights stay with the adoptive parents.

Adopting Through Identification

Identified adoptions are a combination of independent and agency adoptions. Usually, the adoptive parents find a mother wanting to put a child up for adoption, and then both sets of parents ask an adoption agency to control the rest of the process. This process often includes a home study, questions, interviews, and careful analysis.

The advantage over a straight agency adoption is there is no "waitlist" for the adoptive parents. Prospective parents can also have greater control over choosing the child they adopt and still benefit from the counseling and professional services afforded by an agency.

Adopting Internationally

Adopting internationally is the most complicated of all the different types of adoption. To adopt a child who is a citizen of a foreign country, you must satisfy both the laws of the state you live in as well as the laws of the host country. Parents must also obtain an immigrant visa for the child through the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). If approved, the child will be granted U.S. citizenship automatically upon entering the U.S.

Note also that, as of April 1, 2008, international adoptions are regulated through the Hague Adoption Convention. The treaty governs U.S. federal government oversight of domestic adoption agencies and international adoption policies. This oversight is intended to protect children, biological parents and adoptive parents from unethical adoption practices, including international child abductions and adoption scams.

Agencies dealing in international adoption must now be certified by the State Department and adopting parents must prove to the State Department a variety of things:

  • the foreign adoption agency has provided counseling for biological parents,
  • the foreign adoption agency has secured legal consent from the biological parents,
  • the foreign adoption agency has considered local placement of the child,
  • and the child has been properly cleared for adoption in the U.S.

You could try to adopt internationally without an agency, but because of the complexity of the process, most adoptive parents choose to use the services of a U.S. agency specializing in international adoptions.

Adopt as Stepparents

A stepparent adoption occurs when a parent's new spouse adopts the parent's child from a different partner. The process is simple compared to traditional adoption if the birth parents both consent. If one of the parents does not consent or cannot be found, however, then an attorney will need to be involved and there is a significant amount of time and paperwork involved.

Adopting as a Same-Sex Couple

The U.S. Supreme Court overturned an Arkansas law banning same-sex couples from adoption on June 26, 2017, effectively legalizing same-sex adoption in all U.S. states. Prior to that ruling, however, some states explicitly banned gay and lesbian couples from adopting children, including Florida and Mississippi. However, faith-based adoption agencies may decline a same-sex couple's adoption application for "religious reasons."

Relative Adoptions

Relative, or kinship adoptions as they are known in some states, occur when a child's relative steps forward to adopt the child. Typical candidates for this type of adoption are grandparents, aunts and uncles, and the typical situations for relative adoptions involve the death or incapacitation of the birth parents. The law favors relatives raising children, and accordingly the process is significantly easier than other types of adoption.

Adult Adoptions

Adult adoptions are rare, but most states provide for them. Typically, there must be at least a ten year difference between the age of the parent and that of the adult being adopted, and the parties must show why it's in the best interest of the parties to allow the adoption. The primary reason why people undergo an adult adoption is to secure inheritance rights for people they have grown fond, especially when they don't have children of their own. Most states prohibit adult adoptions when caregivers are involved, in order to prevent caregivers from taking advantage of their elderly patients.

Not Sure How to Choose Between the Different Types of Adoption? Talk to an Attorney

Every family's needs are different and there are a variety of reasons for choosing the different adoption methods available under the law. By contacting an experienced adoption lawyer, you can find out which type of adoption will work best for you, and get legal help through the adoption process.

Next Steps

Contact a qualified attorney specializing in adoptions.


Help Me Find a Do-It-Yourself Solution

Copied to clipboard

Find a Lawyer

More Options