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 Utah, adoption is governed by state statutes that outline the legal process for assuming full parental responsibility for a child. This process legally terminates the rights and responsibilities of the child's biological parents and transfers them to the adoptive parents. Utah law requires prospective adoptive parents to go through a home study process, obtain consent from the child's biological parents (unless their rights have been legally terminated for other reasons), and receive approval from the court. The adoption process in Utah is detailed in Title 78B, Chapter 6 of the Utah Code. The state allows for various types of adoption, including agency adoptions, private adoptions, and foster care adoptions. Additionally, Utah law has specific provisions for the adoption of children by stepparents and relatives. Once an adoption is finalized by the court, the adoptive parents have the same rights and responsibilities as if the child were born to them, and the child gains the right to inherit from the adoptive parents.