[Wilna]

I live in South Africa and heard from someone that Americans prefer to adopt internationally than in their own country because the US laws allow the birth parents to take back their children anytime from the adoptive parents. Sounds hard to believe. Is it true?

Michael (Wilna's husband)

[bjolly]

no, this is a common misconception. once an adoption is finalized in the US, the birth parents cannot take back the child. The misconception comes mostly from a few highly publicized cases in the news where children were returned to birth parents after living with preadoptive parents for a number of years. In each of those rare cases, the adoption was never finalized -- generally because proper legal consent wasn't obtained from one of the birth parents. The preadoptive parents then chose to fight the situation in the courts, dragging it out for several years.

there are a variety of reasons why international adoption is so popular with US couples -- the misconception about the parents always being able to take the child back is just one of them. If everything is done in a proper, legal way, the adoption is final and there is no question of the birth parents ever taking the child back.

[BrandyHagz]

Nope, not true.

Birthparents can only reclaim under two circumstances.

1. The state in which placement takes place allows for a “revocation period”. This is a period in which the birthparent can reclaim the child even after signing their termination papers. Some states have this and some do not. This period can vary from a few hours to a few months.

2. There has been fraud or coercion during the adoption proceedings. If a birthparent can prove they have been coerced to place their child for adoption, then they have a right to have the adoption called into question with reclaiming being the possible end result.

[BrandyHagz]

To add to what bjolly said, reclaim is still possible if the birthparents can prove coercion, even after finalization, altho this rarely happens.

[Overwhelmed!]

Brandy- was it you that once provided me with a link that summarized each state's legal requirements for adoption (minimum wait before the birth mother could terminate, revocation periods, birth father's rights, etc.)? If so, could you post that again here? I found it very helpful when I had a lot questions/misconceptions early in my adoption journey. I think Michael might find it helpful as well!

[BrandyHagz]

You bet!

Here is a PDF listing of the state laws regarding Adoption: http://www.adoptivefamilies.com/adop...optionLaws.pdf

[Overwhelmed!]

That's it! Thanks for posting that again!

[Wilna]

Thanks for your responses.

Michael