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Child custody

adoption

Adoption is the legal process in which a person assumes responsibility for the health, safety, well-being, and financial support of another person—usually a child—and terminates the rights and responsibilities of the adopted person’s biological parent or parents.

In Ohio, adoption is governed by state statutes found in the Ohio Revised Code (ORC), specifically in Title 31, which outlines the legal process and requirements for adoption. The process involves terminating the legal rights of the child's biological parents and establishing a new, permanent legal parent-child relationship with the adoptive parents. Prospective adoptive parents must go through a home study process, meet eligibility criteria, and obtain the consent of the child's biological parents unless their rights have been terminated involuntarily due to reasons such as abuse, neglect, or abandonment. In cases where the child is 12 years of age or older, the child's consent to the adoption is also required. The adoption is finalized in court, and the adoptive parents are granted all the legal rights and responsibilities of a biological parent. The adopted child is then issued a new birth certificate reflecting the adoptive parents' names. Ohio law also provides for post-adoption contact agreements, which allow for continued contact between the adopted child and their biological family under certain circumstances.

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Child custody

adoption

Individual & Family Legal Plan

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Ohio State Code

Ohio State Code

Child custody

adoption

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