One of the biggest questions that many prospective parents wishing to adopt find themselves asking is whether or not they are going to be able to adopt a child with the consent of the natural birth parents or not.
The answer to this question is not so clear cut, as we’re sure that you’re very aware, there are a great number of different variables that can affect each individual adoption case.
From foster placements, kinship placements and many other types of adoption – whether or not consent is required can vary.
In this article, we are going to be talking you through some of the most common adoption scenarios to help you better understand what type of consent might be required with regards to the natural birth parents. So, without further ado, let’s jump right into it.
What Happens If Both Birth Parents Agree To The Adoption?
In the event that both natural parents agree to the adoption, then the adoption will be able to take place as soon as the consent has been provided.
From this point onwards, the adoption process will then proceed to take place without any further involvement required by the parents, as the consent for the adoption to proceed will have already been given.
After the consent has then been given, it will be up to the designated court and adoption agency to go ahead and consider whether or not the proposed adoption is in the child’s best interest.
If they agree that it is, then the adoption will be able to go through and the child will be given to the prospective adoptive parents.
What Happens If The Birth Parents Do Not Consent To The Adoption?
Now, if the natural birth parents do not give their consent for the adoption to proceed for whatever reason, then this will typically lead to a delay in the adoption process.
More often than not, when a contest to an adoption is made by the natural parents, the appeal will be taken to the court who will then decide whether the child should be adopted or not.
As a side note, please keep in mind that the proceedings that follow when a parent(s) does not give consent to an adoption can vary from country to country and court to court (see also “10 Best Countries To Adopt From“).
That being said, there might be instances where an adoption is deemed the best choice regardless of whether consent has been provided or not, which brings us to our next section.
Can A Child Be Adopted Without The Consent Of Both Parents?
As we have briefly touched upon, it is important to keep in mind that there are a variety of instances where it might be deemed in the child’s best interest for the adoption to proceed regardless of whether the natural parents consent or not.
In these instances, the decision to proceed with an adoption without consent is always a last resort. Let’s explore some of the main reasons consent might not be required:
Parents Deemed Unfit
The main reason that consent might not be required to proceed with the adoption process is if the natural parents are unfit to care for their child.
While the requirements for being “fit” parents can vary from state to state, some of the main reasons parents might be considered to be unfit include drug or alcohol abuse, abandonment of the child, incarceration, neglect, abuse and more.
In these such instances, if parents are determined to be unfit for whatever reason, then the requirement for parental consent of adoption will be waived in favor of the child’s welfare.
In addition to the above, if the natural parents are considered to be unfit to raise the child, the parental rights that they once had will be taken away and terminated immediately. This will then, in turn, mean that the consent is simply not needed anymore.
Parent Identity Is Unclear
The second main reason that parent consent might not be required is if the parent identity is unclear.
In the rare instance that the court is unable to find out who the parents are, then the requirement for the parental consent of the adoption placement will be waived so that the adoption can go ahead and proceed.
On the other hand, if the court is aware of one parent but they are refusing to provide details of who the other parent is, then the court might also decide to waive the consent so that the adoption placement can proceed and be completed.
More often than not, however, the main reason for consent to be waived is if the parents are deemed unfit.
The Bottom Line
All in all? If you are considering adoption, you are almost certainly going to need to get the consent of the natural birth parents prior to being able to go ahead with the adoption placement successfully.
While each adoption situation is different, more often than not, the parents will give consent at the early stages in order to prevent delays.
Still, despite the fact that consent is always sought after when going through with an adoption placement, it is very important to keep in mind that there are some instances in which consent might not be required, such as unfit parents.
In these types of situations, consent will not be required in order to ensure the welfare of the child is protected. Needless to say, adoption law is very complicated and usually state specific.
Due to this, any questions that you might currently have surrounding adoption without the consent of the natural birth parents is going to be best answered by professionals.
For this reason, we recommend that you seek the assistance of an attorney or reputable adoption agency for further help. Thank you for reading this, we hope that we have been of help.
Hi, I’m Joan Crassel, and I started my firm in 2006, with the goal to help and represent clients in a range of adoption-related matters.
Since then, the firm has gone on to aid hundreds of clients in adoption proceedings, and in other areas of family law.
With this site, I hope that you can find all of the answers that you are looking for, with in depth guides and informative articles from lawyers, not bloggers or social media influencers. We have actual first-hand knowledge of the adoption process, and can provide you with insight that no one else can.
