As a family law attorney, I often say that adoption day is one
of the only times there is crying in the courtroom and that is a
good thing. Helping parents adopt is rewarding and an important
role to play. One of the most common forms of adoption is
stepparent adoption. Typically, adoptions take place through the
orphans' court of your local county.
Typically, adoption is a two-step process. First, the parental
rights are terminated and then the adoption takes place.
Termination of rights can be either voluntary (by agreement of the
biological parent) or involuntary (based on specific reasons). If a
biological parent is willing to have their rights terminated, they
typically sign a consent. This voluntary termination is only done
as part of an adoption proceeding, so one parent cannot
unilaterally decide to give up their rights if there is not someone
stepping in to fill that role. There are a number of grounds
for involuntary termination of parental rights,
