How to Adopt a Child in Texas

Houston Adoption Lawyer Explains Available Methods

Video Transcript: 

Duana Boswell-Loechel: 

All adoptions are gonna have an attorney that's appointed for the child and there's gonna be visits to the home.

Tom Mustin: 

Adoption laws can vary from State to State, so what should you know if you live in the state of Texas? We're talking to attorney Duana Boswell-Loechel about that on today's episode of Ask The Lawyer, Duana, thanks for joining us.

Duana Boswell-Loechel: 

Thanks for having me.

Tom Mustin: 

Great to talk to you. So for family law attorneys, there are more than one type of adoption, can you discuss the different ways that families can adopt a child in Texas?

Duana Boswell-Loechel: 

There are several ways: One, you go through an agency and they usually provide you what you need in order to adopt in that fashion, we have stepparent adoption, so one parent remarries and their new spouse wants to adopt their children, we have adoption through foster care system, which there's a few more hoops that you have to jump through with that one and then your typical private adoption. That's just one party wanting to adopt with another and they're not going through an agency.

Tom Mustin: 

What is the process for stepparent adoption in Texas and does the biological parent have to agree?

Duana Boswell-Loechel: 

So the biological parent does not have to agree to the adoption, there are involuntary terminations available in Texas if they meet one of the requirements. The most common one is they haven't exercised visitation or even more common, they haven't paid child support in a significant amount of time. Stepparents, they can if the other parent does agree to the adoption and then they can file an affidavit of relinquishment which makes the steps much easier so you don't have to terminate their rights through a trial of actually going through and presenting evidence and witnesses. The next step would just be the parent that's remaining a parent consents to that adoption and depending on the age of the child, if they're 12 or older, they also have to consent to the adoption and then you just file the petition with the court, they have to be in the same household for at least six months. And then it's usually a pretty easy process once the other biological parents' rights have been terminated.

Tom Mustin: 

And what's the difference between a stepparent adoption and adoption by a family member or a close friend, or a private party?

Duana Boswell-Loechel: 

If we're terminating both of the biological parents rights, that's usually the biggest difference, is we have to go through some background checks, we have to go through fingerprints, there's a report for health, education and welfare of the family that needs to go through. We have in all adoptions, they're gonna have an attorney that is appointed for the child and there's gonna be visits to the home.

Tom Mustin: 

And so what is agency adoption? And can people apply to adopt a child through an agency?

Duana Boswell-Loechel: Usually adoptions are through a licensed adoption agency and anybody can reach out and contact an agency adoption and see if they qualify. And the agency is the one that actually pairs the adoptive parents with the biological parents to make that connection for the adoption to move forward. And they also provide all the supporting documentation and paperwork and reports and everything that needs to go with it.

Tom Mustin: 

Do you need your own lawyer, if you're going through an adoption agency?

Duana Boswell-Loechel: 

Some adoption agencies will provide the lawyer for you and some will ask that you get your own lawyer so it just depends on the agency?

Tom Mustin: 

Duana thank you again, we appreciate your expertise as always.

Duana Boswell-Loechel: 

Thank you.

Tom Mustin: 

And that's gonna do it for this episode of Ask The Lawyer. My guest has been Duana Boswell-Loechel. If you wanna ask Duana about your situation, call the number on the screen. Thanks for watching. I'm Tom Mustin for Ask The Lawyers.

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