From Adoption 101: How to Adopt a Child:

12. Receive adoption decree (must be issued in a courthouse in some states; mailed to your home in others).

After you have filed your petition to adopt, the court will review your petition and (hopefully) grant it. Some states require you to go to court for an adoption hearing. In other states, the adoption decree will be mailed to your home.

Finalization is an important part of the adoption process. A judge reviews all of the paperwork to make sure that the rights of all parties involved have been protected. For example, if a birthparent’s rights have been violated (such as the birthfather not being notified about the adoption plan), then the judge will order that this be rectified before the adoption can be finalized.

In most cases, the finalization should be a formality. However, if a biological parent’s parental rights have not yet been terminated, this might be handled in the same hearing. Your adoption attorney should let you know in advance if he anticipates any problems at the adoption hearing.

I know several families who went to court to finalize their adoptions, and by all accounts, it was a joyful time of celebration. From what I understand from my friends in the legal community, judges enjoy these kinds of proceedings. Judges spend their days listening to people arguing, so it is fun for them to watch a family come together.

Many people invite friends and family to come to the courthouse for the adoption hearing. Even though the adoption decree that you receive at this hearing is “just a piece of paper,” it is a very important piece of paper because it tells the world that you are now a forever family.

I was looking forward to going to court for our adoption hearing. I planned to invite all of our loved ones and even bring along balloons. As it turned out, we were not required to go to court. In the State of North Carolina, if the adoption is straightforward, then the adoption decree can just be mailed to your house. Since both of my son’s birthparents signed a voluntary termination of parental rights form, there was no need for us to go to court.

Instead, this very important piece of paper arrived in the mail one day. I was so happy that I cried, but there was nobody around to celebrate with me. My son was taking a nap, and my husband was at work. We held an adoption party for my son a week later to celebrate, but we did nothing on the day that we actually received decree.

Related Topics:

• Finalizing Your Adoption



• Adoption ABCs - Paperwork for domestic adoption



• Adoption ABCs - Fears and Finalization



• Open adoption and finalization day

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