With Oklahoma City Adoption Lawyer Christopher A. Wood, your family will be compassionately guided through the adoption process.
Whether you’re interested in building a new home for an adopted child, a step-parent, or a relative trying to adopt a grandchild, niece, or nephew, we know your family is important and uniting you together is our number one priority. We’re here to give you the quality adoption counsel you need at a price that fits your budget.
Working closely with our clients, we remove the uncertainty and anxiety experienced by many when undertaking what can be complicated, confusing legal proceedings. Following procedures and preparing necessary documentation is helpful in avoiding delays and complications. Chris is acknowledged as an adoption expert by Oklahoma City Adoption judges and is ready to lend you his expertise.
Remove the doubt and confusion – contact Oklahoma City adoption lawyer Christopher A. Wood today. We representing clients throughout the State of Oklahoma, including Oklahoma City, Edmond, El Reno, Moore, Norman, Bethany, Warr Acres, Yukon, and Woodlawn Park. Call or email us today for free consultations and convenient appointments.
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See What Clients are Saying about Adoptions with Chris:
Adoption – An Overview
Adoption creates a legal parent-child relationship. Through adoption, a parent other than the birth parent becomes legally responsible for the child’s physical, material and emotional well-being. Adoption is becoming more common as a positive way to form a family. If you are interested in adopting a child, Chris and his team are happy to answer your questions and help guide you through this process. Affordable Legal Services is passionate about uniting families without breaking the bank.
Open vs. Closed Adoption
In the past, most adoptions were closed, meaning the adoptive parents and birth parents had no contact before or after the child was adopted. Today, domestic adoptions in the United States are moving toward open adoptions, where all the parties to an adoption meet beforehand and often remain in each other’s lives.
Termination of Parental Rights
Before a child can be adopted, the child’s legal ties to their birth parents must be severed. This process can be stressful for adoptive parents, who may worry that complications will increase the length of the process or prevent a successful adoption altogether. Chris and his team have handled Termination of Parental Rights again and again. They are prepared to help you through this process and finally complete your family.
How to Finance an Adoption
The expenses associated with adopting vary according to the type of adoption you pursue and where your child is from. Such expenses can include application fees, the cost of the social worker’s home study, court costs, adoptive parent training, prenatal and delivery medical expenses, foster care fees, orphanage donations, foreign fees and travel costs.
The Affordable Legal Services team has made a commitment to provide Oklahoma adoptions at the best possible price. Your family is our priority.
We offer uncontested adoptions for a flat fee depending on the type of adoption you need. This includes all court costs and fees. The only cost not included is for a home study (normally $700) which is not required as long as you have been married for one year before the Adoption Decree is entered. Home studies are also required when an adoptive parent has a felony, VPO or negative report from DHS. Payment plans are available for your convenience.
Uncontested Adoption Flat Fees:
Step-Parent Adoption involving 1 Adoptive Parent with the consent of all parties……$3,000
Step-Parent Adoption involving 1 Adoptive Parent WITHOUT consent (requiring publication service)…..$3,500
Step-Parent Adoption involving 2 Adoptive Parents…….$4,000
Direct Placement Adoption terminating rights of 2 original parents…….$4,000
Other adoption cases may include different steps and fees. For instance, if your adoption case becomes contested (not agreed to), we will visit with you to determine additional fees for taking your case to trial. However, there are no additional fees for multiple children from the same parent.
You won’t find a more affordable adoption attorney than here at Affordable Legal Services.
Click here to see the step-by-step adoption process.
Learn More About Step-Parent Adoptions
Sometimes building a new family involves more than providing life’s necessities and a home for you and your stepchildren. At the Oklahoma City law office of Christopher A. Wood, we guide step-parents through the process of adoption, taking steps to terminate parental rights and completing an adoption that will eliminate any future claims to custody or visitation.
As a step-parent, your rights to the children you have been raising are limited if something unexpected and tragic should happen to your spouse. You may be the only mom or dad that they have known. Yet, if your spouse was to pass away, an absent parent could take immediate custody, leaving you with a difficult and emotional battle at the worst possible time. Adoption in these cases is like life insurance for your child, taking the step out of step-parent.
Step-parents can adopt children if the biological parent consents or without their consent when certain grounds are established. The two most common grounds are the failure to pay child support or failure to maintain a significant and positive relationship with the minor child. The relevant time period that the Court will consider is the fourteen months before the Petition for Adoption is filed. If a parent has failed, refused, or neglected to contribute to the support of the minor child in substantial compliance with a court order the Judge can terminate their parental rights even if they do not consent. Or, if there is no Court Order for child support, then the Judge can determine if they have failed to contribute support according to such parent’s financial ability.
With over 20 years of experience as a family law attorney, Christopher A. Wood understands how to prepare and investigate a case and put the law on the side of his clients. Committed to protecting what’s best for children, we’re prepared to document neglect, abandonment, and lack of involvement on the part of a biological parent who tries to challenge a step parent’s adoption of their child if required.
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Continue reading for more information on step-parent adoptions.
Step-Parent Adoption: Being Prepared is Key
It’s important to document your involvement with your stepchildren. Since the court always maintains what is in the best interest of children, you will need to establish the role you play in the life of your stepchildren. In order to satisfy the court, providing the following can be helpful to your case:
- Daily log of taking children to school, the doctor, sports activities, etc.
- Photos of birthday and holiday celebrations where you were present
- Vacation photos or videos with you and your stepchildren
- Records of medical bills paid for by you for your stepchildren
- Records of support provided by the parent who is having their rights terminated
- Records of visits and telephone calls of the parent who is having their rights terminated
Helping Families Prepare for Their Future
As a family law and adoption practice, we understand how important it is to help families help themselves. Recognizing the confusing and complicated nature of some adoption proceedings, as your lawyer Christopher A. Wood’s door is always open. Accessible and flexible, as a private law office with minimal overhead we’re prepared to adapt to your needs while providing affordable rates.
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