6 Myths About Adoptions
Lisa Paige Glass is an adoption attorney at Glass Law Office in Boca Raton who focuses on pairing expectant mothers with the perfect family to adopt their baby. Choosing adoption can be scary for someone who is new to the process, regardless of whether you are a birth parent or an adoptive parent. Sometimes, myths and misconceptions deter some people from considering adoption. Here, we address and debunk some of the most common myths about adoption.
Myth #1: Adoption Takes Many Years
As a birth parent, you may feel that you do not want to pursue adoption because you do not want your child to be in foster care for years before an adoption is finalized. This will not happen, however, if you choose to privately place your child for adoption through Glass Law Office. When you choose adoption, Glass Law Office places your baby directly with the adoptive family—no foster care.
As an adoptive parent, you may feel that you do not want to pursue adoption because it will be many years before you will be able to create a family through adoption. Although the adoption process does not happen overnight, there are plenty of couples who start the process and within a year are bringing their new child home. A common time-frame to complete the process is 2 years. The notion that it is common to take 5 or more years simply isn’t true. Although Glass Law Office cannot guarantee that an adoption will occur within a certain timeframe, Lisa takes pride in her hands-on approach to matching birth parents with quality adoptive families and strives to ensure that the process goes as smoothly and quickly as possible.
Myth #2: Expectant Mothers Have to Follow Rules Set by the Adoptive Parents
Not only is this false, but the adoptive parents are actually expected to be understanding of the birth mother’s wishes throughout the pregnancy. The birth mother can choose how involved she wants the adoptive parents to be in the process leading up to the birth. For example, the birth mother may choose not to meet the adoptive family, or the birth mother may let the adoptive parents into the labor room and ask for photos and updates throughout the child’s life. Every adoption is different because every birth mother is unique. That is why Lisa works closely with the birth parents and the adoptive family to ensure the individual touch that is so crucial to a successful adoption.
Myth #3: I Am Too Old to Place My Child for Adoption
Birth mothers are a diverse group of women, encompassing a variety of ages, races, and backgrounds. The majority of birth mothers are actually adults between 25 and 30 years old. Lisa has worked successfully with birth mothers in their teens, twenties, thirties, and even forties.. Birth mothers choose adoption at various stages of their lives for a variety of reasons, including not being financially or emotionally ready to raise a child or to add another child to her household, being a single mother who wants her child to have two parents, or simply not wanting to have a child. Regardless of a birth mother’s age, race, background, or reason for choosing adoption, the one common thread that unites birthmothers is that, by choosing adoption, they are making a thoughtful, mature, loving decision in the best interest of their child. Glass Law Office takes pride in giving each birth mother the peace of mind that her child will have a wonderful home and life in the arms of a loving adoptive family.
Myth #4: Birth Parents Can Change Their Minds After the Adoption is Finalized
Adoption is the legal process of creating a family by giving parental rights to adoptive parents. Adoption is permanent, unlike foster care, which is temporary. Once finalized in court, the adoptive parents are considered the legal parents of the child—just the same as if they had given birth to the child biologically. Having this type of permanent, stable home and family is in the child’s best interest and one of the many reasons that birth mothers choose adoption.
Myth #5: Adoptive Families Can Only Be Straight Married Couples
One of the most important parts of the adoption process is working closely with the birth parents to find the perfect adoptive family. As a birth parent, you may or may not already have a picture in your mind of the type of family you want to adopt your child. Adoptive families can be straight, gay, or lesbian couples; married or unmarried couples; or single parents. Adoptive families come from a variety of religious, racial, and ethnic backgrounds. When matching you with an adoptive family, Lisa will listen to and take into account any preferences and requests you may have. All of the adoptive families who hope to adopt through Glass Law Office have gone through a rigorous screening process, including criminal, health, psychological, educational, and financial screenings, and have been hand-selected by Lisa herself. You can rest assured that your baby will be safe and secure in the arms of a loving adoptive family.
Myth #6: Most Adoptions are Closed
There is technically no such thing as an “open” or “closed” adoption in Florida—legally, adoption attorneys such as Lisa have a duty to safeguard the birth parents’ and the adoptive parents’ confidential and identifying information. That being said, we realize that, in many situations, the birth parents would like some level of openness, such as meeting the adoptive parents before the baby is born and receiving photos and updates on the child throughout the child’s life. In fact, 90% of birth mothers desire this type of connection with the adoptive family and the child.
If you choose to place your child for adoption through Glass Law Office, we will work with you to determine the level of openness or confidentiality that you desire, and we will find an adoptive family who wants the same things that you do. If you decide that you would like some level of openness, Lisa will be there to facilitate a meeting with the adoptive family prior to the birth and to contact the adoptive family to obtain photos and updates after the adoption is complete. If the child grows curious about the birth parents as he/she gets older, Lisa will also remain as a point of contact to facilitate communication, as long as the birth parents desire such communication. Additionally, the Florida Adoption Reunion Registry exists to facilitate reunions for people affected by adoption in Florida. You can learn more about the Florida Adoption Reunion Registry at http://www.adoptflorida.com/reunion-registry.htm.
Please do not hesitate to contact Boca Raton adoption attorney Lisa Paige Glass at Glass Law Office regarding the adoption process. We are available by phone or text 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, and we are happy to speak with both expectant mothers and fathers considering adoption as well as couples and individuals looking to adopt. If you are a birth parent and would like to meet in person, we will visit you face-to-face at the location where you feel most comfortable.