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Hi,
My husband and I are thinking of adopting a sibling group that we are currently fostering. We are trying to find answers to some legal questions. If anyone has any info on the following or where I could look it up, it would be greatly appreciated! Here are the questions:
What is guardianship?
Is it possible to appeal the SCAIF decision? Is it possible to appeal the Sibling Seperation decision?
Is there any difference in the legal resposibilities to an adopted child versus a birth child? (Heirs, criminal issues, etc.)
If the adopted child 's behaviors become so severe that adoptive family cannot handle them, can the child be returned to DSS custody, and if so, will adoptive parents be responsible for paying child support to DSS? Will adoptive family still have access to child's stipend to cover this? How will amounts be determined?
After a child is adopted, if the adoption is disrupted/dissolved, do we as the adoptive parents have the right to help choose a new adoptive family? Would the child/children still receive medicaid/ monthly stipend in the new adoptive family (check on Public Law 105-89)? How much would this cost? Who pays expenses? How long would it take?
Thanks for any help!
Sandra
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hi,maybe you can consult a adoption attorney ,and they can nswer these questions.as far as legally a a dopted child is the same as a bio child,as fair as you being responsible for them,they being your heirs.the other questions i can not answer.but if you are thinking of adopting make sure you get all the info you need first.
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I'll take a stab at answering some of those...
Guardianship - this is when an adult agrees to care for a child, but not to become the child's parent. State laws vary on what the adult guardian is actually responsible for. State laws also vary on how the guardianship agreement can be dissolved, and on whether the bio parents or third parties can petition to have it removed. Guardianship agreements are sometimes accompanied by state payments like foster care payments, but often are not. Guardians are often limited in what they can do with the child - for instance most can not change the child's last name to their own, and sometimes can not make certain decisions (like medical procedures, or perhaps homeschooling) without a second party agreeing. It all depends on state laws and how the guardianship agreement is written.
(I don't have any idea about SCAIF or sibling separation appeals.)
Legal responsibilities to an adopted child are identical to those you have to a birth child.
Adopted children are expected to inherit from you, and can sue if they are disinherited just like birth relatives can. They can not inherit from birth family unless specifically named ("X amt to each of my children" does not include a child adopted by someone else).
Adopted children are your next of kin if you are incapacitated, and would be listened to as much as birth children when there are treatment decisions to be made on your behalf. (And they are no longer next of kin to their bio parents, have no say in their medical care, and bio parents have no say in theirs.)
Adopted children are your legal responsibility just like birth children. If your minor child commits a criminal act or act of vandalism, you'd be expected to appear in court with your child and pay restitution on behalf of your child no matter how that child came into your family.
If the adoptive parents are unable to continue to parent their child, their options are the same regardless of whether the child is bio or adopted.
The parents can find someone else to adopt the child - always legal no matter the age of the child, but notoriously hard to find for an older child who is acting out dangerously.
If you must surrender your child to DSS, then you are likely to be charged with child abandonment, and expected to pay child support until an adoptive home is found for the child.
If the child leaves the home under any circumstances, chances are you will lose the child's stipend. The state gets to keep it if anyone but you is in charge of the child. (Exceptions for short stays like camp and time at grandparents' are allowed and the subsidy will continue, but if you allow someone else to adopt the child or if DSS takes custody or if the child lives at a Residential Treatment Center then the subsidy will stop.)
If the parents choose to dissolve/disrupt the adoption by turning the child over to DSS and having their rights terminated, then they lose all rights to have anything to do with the child. They might never even hear if the child is alive from that day forward. They certainly won't have any say in the child's next family.
The child's next family, IF that family is selected by DSS, will be allowed to apply for the subsidy and medical card just like you did. Laws at the time of that adoption, and what the new parents ask for, will govern what the new parents get.
If the parents choose to dissolve/disrupt the adoption by allowing somebody else to adopt the child, then obviously they are the ones who choose the next family. But that only happens if you don't involve DSS. And if you don't involve DSS, then the new parents will not receive any subsidy or medical card. It will be considered a private adoption - you don't get the subsidy anymore because you don't have the child, and the new parents don't get the subsidy because they adopted privately rather than through DSS.
Dissolving an adoption is HARD. There are no good choices. Parents give up a lot no matter how it happens.
If you haven't already, you may want to post this in the Special Needs Adoption forum. Many of the parents there have wrestled with the hard decisions created by a child with more problems than they knew about at the time of the adoption.
Hope this helps!