Growing your family through adoption is an exciting time. Contact the Atkins Law Firm, P.A. to discuss your options on how to handle this exciting time. Whether you are adoption through a DSS (Department of Social Services) placement or working directly with a birth parent, it is our pleasure to assist you.
We assist with all types of adoptions:
Step-parent and relative adoptions- including grandparent adoptions - These adoptions are often referred to as “in family” adoptions and allow some of the formalities associated with adoptions of unrelated children to be waived by the Family Court. Some of the items that can be waived are the mandatory waiting period, the final accounting, and the pre-placement and post-placement adoption home studies. There must be some clear path of biological relationship between the adoptive parents and the adoptee.
Agency adoptions;
DSS adoptions - The Department of Social Services is probably the largest “adoption agency” in the state and they are tasked with helping children who have been freed for adoption to find permanent, adoptive placements. Typically, this occurs through a licensing process with DSS to become an adoptive placement family. Once you have been selected to be an adoptive family for a child and you have signed an adoption agreement with DSS, your lawyer can begin the process of petitioning the family court to file for adoption. Many times these fees are fully paid by DSS so you have minimal out of pocket expense for the legal porton of the adoption.
Private adoptions - these adoptions are between two parties who are not related to one another, but they are not working with DSS or another adoption agency. These children may have been placed with the adoptive family by a biological parent or they may have been placed into their legal custody previously by DSS or by a private agreement.
Next Step?
If you are ready to grow your family through adoption and you desire to move forward here is your next step: contact our office using this short form or by call us at 864-558-0512 or use the form below to schedule your consultation to discuss the South Carolina adoption process and get specific questions answered about your case by a Greenville, SC adoption lawyer. During this meeting we can get to know one another better and we can mutually determine if our representation is best for you and your family.
