How to Ensure Your International Adoption is Legally Recognized in Iowa
In adoption, finalization is typically the last step of the process to “officially” make your child a legal member of your family. But if you adopted internationally and finalized your child’s adoption in his or her birth country, there is another step you can take to protect your child and ensure your adoption is recognized in the United States.
Here, learn how Nelson Law Firm can help you legally protect your family with a foreign re-adoption.
How to Re-Adopt in Iowa
International re-adoption is essentially the review of your international adoption by an Iowa court. Following the re-adoption process, you can obtain a state-issued certificate of foreign birth for your child, which helps ensure that your adoption is never questioned or challenged in a U.S. court.
Nelson Law Firm can provide all of the services you need to complete your international re-adoption, including:
- filing an adoption petition with the court.
- submitting important adoption paperwork and translations, if necessary.
- arranging a hearing to finalize the re-adoption process.
- obtaining a final adoption decree and legal name change for your child.
- ordering a certificate of foreign birth through the state of Iowa.
- and more.
While re-adoption may seem like an added obstacle at the end of a long international adoption journey, it can be an expedited process — especially when working with an experienced Iowa adoption attorney. Because your adoption was previously finalized in your child’s birth country, there are no post-placement requirements to fulfill, which helps to keep the re-adoption process simple and cost-effective.
How International Re-Adoption Can Benefit Your Child
While international re-adoption is not always required following a foreign adoption, it is strongly encouraged for any family who has finalized an adoption in another country for a number of reasons. Re-adoption:
- allows you to legally change your child’s name.
- provides a U.S.-issued birth record, which may be necessary to obtain other forms of identification, such as a driver’s license.
- allows you to establish a new birth date for your child, if necessary.
- ensures you will be able to obtain additional copies of your child’s certificate of foreign birth, if necessary; these documents are often easier to replace than foreign adoption records.
- and more.
Most importantly, international re-adoption may help protect your adoption from legal challenges, giving you and your child the peace of mind that you deserve.
If you are ready to protect your family with an international re-adoption, contact Nelson Law Firm to learn more about this process and its benefits for adoptive families in Iowa. Ken Nelson can schedule a consultation with you to discuss your specific circumstances and determine whether an international re-adoption could benefit your family.