Adoption Legal Services

We know adoption law and will be at your side to answer your questions and support you through the adoption process.

Adoption Parent Rights

A Nebraska couple who seeks to adopt a child born in Nebraska must have a home study done by a child placement agency, licensed in the state of Nebraska. The home study must be done prior to the placement of the child in the home of the adoptive couple. The child must reside with the adoptive couple for six months before the court can enter a decree of adoption. The decree of adoption results in creation of a new birth certificate for the child showing the adoptive couple as the child’s parents. The child’s name on the new birth certificate will be the name given the child by the adoptive parents.

Birth Parents

To guide you through the tough decisions you face with your pregnancy, counseling and legal representation is available, at no cost to you. Your counselor or attorney can help you choose and pursue your best personal options. You can be at peace knowing that as your attorneys, we will support your decisions. Be assured that should you decide to relinquish your child for adoption, there is an adoptive couple who has been determined by thorough investigation to be caring, loving and financially able to adopt a child and who would be grateful to have your child placed with them.

Mother’s Rights

A birth mother, along with a birth father, if present, selects the adoptive parents. The birth mother chooses where she wishes to give birth, and determines how, after birth and before she relinquishes the child, the adoptive parents will meet and interact with the newborn. In an out of wedlock birth, absent unusual circumstances, the birth mother must identify the birth father by written statement.

Father’s Rights

Rights of a father differ depending upon whether it is an out of wedlock birth or a child born of a marriage. In either case, the father must be given notice of the intended adoption, either before or after birth. After notice, to preserve his rights to object to the adoption, the father must take specified legal actions. Alternately, he may waive his rights through inaction or choose to actively participate in the adoption process. Especially for out of wedlock fathers, timing is critical in protecting their rights during the adoption process.

Relative Adoptions

We provide legal guidance to grandparents, siblings or other relatives who seek to adopt a family member, and can help establish a guardianship in those cases where adoption be premature or inappropriate.

Step-parent Adoption

Step-parent adoptions are a common procedure we help facilitate.. We know how to guide you through the process of adopting your spouse’s child resulting in a favorable result for all.

Foreign Adoptions

Often children in foreign countries are adopted by Nebraska couples. When a foreign child is adopted, the last step in the process is a finalization proceeding which results in the issuance of a Nebraska birth certificate for the child.

Interstate Adoptions

Whether the child is born in Nebraska and the adoptive parents live in another state or the adoptive parents are Nebraska residents and have identified a child born in another state to adopt, we can smooth compliance with the stringent requirements of the Interstate Compact on the Placement of Children (ICPC).