When you make the decision to adopt a child in Tennessee, you may find that the entire family takes some time to adjust to your new familial situation. While adoption may prove tremendously rewarding, it may also prove challenging, particularly at the beginning....
Should you adopt children if you are their legal guardian?
If a family member, spouse, or friend has died and made you their children's legal guardian, you may be contemplating adoption as the next step. To know if this decision is right for you, you should understand the differences between adoption and legal guardianship....
How health issues may affect the adoption process
An international adoption agency may require United States citizens to pass a medical exam before becoming adoptive parents. The agency may need to determine hopeful parents’ suitability for adoption based on the standards of the country the child currently lives in....
What is a post-adoption contact agreement?
Post-adoption contact agreements (PACAs) are voluntary contracts between a child’s biological and adoptive parents. A PACA allows the biological parent(s) to maintain contact with the adopted child after the termination of his or her parental rights and the child is...
Some essential concerns of adoption in Tennessee
Adoption remains a hugely influential choice that can benefit a significant group of people. While the process involves many complex emotions, it also incorporates several legal requirements as well as a multitude of other factors. Individuals and families should look...
Same-sex adoption in Tennessee: What you need to know
In Tennessee, families come in all shapes and sizes. While laws have traditionally centered around heterosexual family units, the 2015 Obergefell v. Hodges Supreme Court ruling granted legal recognition of same-sex marriages, too. As a result, there are many family...
Does your home have to be perfect during a home study?
With work, home, recreation, spiritual and other daily obligations, you may feel there are too few hours in the day. You are not alone, of course, as many Americans report feeling busier than ever. Still, you are probably certain you have enough time to adopt a child....
How to prepare to adopt a child in Tennessee
Adopting a child in Tennessee can change the lives of both the parents and the children they bring into their families. Deciding to pursue adoption requires a big commitment, but it does not require that you become the perfect parent overnight. Knowing where to start...
Does Tennessee recognize open adoption?
When you live in Tennessee and give some thought to adopting a child, you may wonder whether there is potential for the child’s birth parents to remain active in his or her life. An open adoption is one where the birth family, or one birth parent, may maintain contact...
What grandparents should know about adopting their grandchildren
Life doesn’t always turn out like you think it might. You may have been over the moon to discover you daughter was expecting a baby and you would be a grandparent soon. However, after the baby was born, your daughter had a relapse with her drug and alcohol addiction...
