In our experience at Hildebrand Law Office, P.C., many people assume all adoptions involve a child with no living relatives being adopted by unrelated strangers. In reality, the situation is often more complicated. Many children who are available for adoption have living biological parents and have only been removed from their custody because the parents are not able to care for them. In addition, it is increasingly considered best practice to keep children within their families when possible, as maintaining those family connections is beneficial to the children’s wellbeing. This is known as a relative adoption, and it is something our lawyer, Jennifer E. Hildebrand, has a great deal of experience with.
In this article, we will go over some common misconceptions about relative adoptions, so you get a better idea of how they work.
- Myth: Relative Adoptions Prevent the Trauma of Separation – While relative adoptions are easier on children in some ways, such placements do not prevent the trauma of being removed from their original caregivers. Even though children may have an easier time forming a trusting relationship with a grandparent, aunt or uncle, or other relative, they will still need support to process the pain of being severed from their parents.
- Myth: Adopting Relatives Need Less Support – Another common assumption about relative adoptions we want to challenge here is the idea that relatives who adopt children from within their extended family need less support than parents who adopt non-relative children. In some ways, adopting relatives requires even more support because they are often less prepared for the adoption, and because they need to process complex feelings about their family members.
- Myth: Relative Adoptions are Easier than Non-Relative Adoptions – Lastly, you shouldn’t assume it will be easier to adopt a relative than it would be to adopt a non-relative. The legal process is just as complex for both types of adoption. In addition, you may face additional challenges on the way to adoption if you first began caring for your young relatives informally, as the courts can consider such arrangements too “messy.”