by Donald C. Cofsky
Most Common Reasons Adoptions Fail
There are many reasons why adoptions fail, and when it does happen, it can be heartbreaking for all parties involved. While many adoptions are completely successful, a 2010 study found about 6 to 11% of all adoptions are disrupted before they can be finalized. When an adoption fails, it’s always worth consulting your NJ adoption lawyer so you can be sure that you know what options you have to help deal with the situation going forward.
A Failed Match
Perhaps the most common reason for why adoptions fail in New Jersey is when a failed match occurs. A failed match is when the expectant parent decides that they want to be the one to raise the child after all, after already having chosen an adoptive family. This will usually happen either just before or just after the child has been born. What many often don’t realize, even if the birth parent and the adoptive parent have already finalized the adoption by this point, if the birth parent changes their mind about the adoption, then by law, the adoptive parents no longer have any legal claim over the child.
A Disrupted Adoption
Disrupted adoptions tend to occur most commonly with older children who have been adopted from foster care. Adoptive parents can discover that they are not yet properly prepared or adequately trained to take care of children with challenging mental, physical or emotional issues. As a result of this, prospective adoptive parents may decide that they no longer wish to continue with the adoption process.
An adoption can be disrupted after a child has been placed and living in a home, but before the adoption has been finalized in the eyes of the law. When adoption fails, the child will be placed either with new parents or placed back into foster care.
Dissolved Adoptions
In the case of a dissolved adoption, the adoption will have already been legally finalized before it breaks down. Dissolved adoptions are very rare, and will, for the most part, only ever occur in an extreme case where the child’s special needs are unable to be fully taken care of by the adoptive parents. This could be due to many reasons, such as a lack of resources, a lack of information, or an inability to meet the high costs that the special needs of the child require.
Once the process of a dissolved adoption begins, the child and the adoptive parents’ relationship will be severed, and the child will either be placed back into foster care or new adoptive parents will be found.
A NJ adoption lawyer can help you withdraw from an adoption if you meet the child and they have a condition or problems that weren’t disclosed or you do not feel you can handle.
Contested Adoption
A contested adoption can be one of the more challenging reasons why adoptions fall apart. This will occur when one of the child’s biological parents decides they wish to place the child up for adoption, but the other biological parent is against it. In many cases, the father of the child may be completely unaware of the fact that the mother is pregnant, or in other cases, perhaps the person who believes himself to be the father discovers that he is not actually the father. In other situations, the father may feel that he was pressured into placing the child up for adoption or has since simply changed his mind.
In the case that the biological father refuses to rescind his parental rights and wishes to parent the child himself, then all parties involved must go to court. The case will then be put before a judge who will decide based on the law and the father’s situation what’s best for the child and whether or not to stop the adoption. In this instance, a NJ adoption attorney can help provide any required information and assist with any necessary paperwork that will be instrumental during the court hearings.
To confer with a NJ adoption lawyer, contact Cofsky & Zeidman LLC at (856) 429-5005 to schedule a consultation in Haddonfield. We can help you learn more about your options if you are facing challenges with an adoption.
