How You Can Complete a Gay Adoption in Iowa with Ken Nelson
In Iowa today, same-sex couples adopting have all the same rights as any heterosexual couple does — and attorney Ken Nelson will protect your rights through every step of an LGBT adoption in Iowa.
Generally, there are three ways that same-sex couples can choose to adopt a child in Iowa:
- Married, joint adoption
- Stepparent adoption
- Second-parent adoption
Which same-sex adoption process will be best for you is determined by your individual circumstances. If you are considering a gay adoption in Iowa, Ken can discuss your adoption preferences and goals with you to find the right LGBT adoption process. When you’re ready, he can help you move forward by providing all of the legal services you need to complete your adoption journey.
To learn more about what kind of gay adoption is best for your situation, please contact the Nelson Law Firm today. In the meantime, keep reading to learn more about the adoption processes that are available to you.
Married, Joint Adoption
Same-sex marriage has been legal in Iowa since 2009. For almost a decade, married same-sex couples adopting in Iowa have been able to complete this process jointly like any other heterosexual couple.
Whether it’s done by privately adopting an infant or adopting from foster care, gay adoption in Iowa is an option for those LGBT couples considering adding a child to their family. In many ways, the LGBT adoption process is no different than the adoption process for an opposite-sex couple, as long as you employ LGBT-friendly professionals like the Nelson Law Firm.
You can complete a joint LGBT adoption of a child with the assistance of an adoption agency or independently. Whichever path you choose, you will need the legal guidance of an adoption attorney to complete all the legal steps of the process. The Nelson Law Firm can provide all the legal assistance to complete this kind of same-sex adoption.
Stepparent Adoption
Another popular way that same-sex couples adopting add a child to their family is through a stepparent adoption.
In this kind of adoption process, one spouse is already the legal parent of a child. The child may be from a previous relationship, the legal parent may have adopted this child before they met their spouse, or the couple may not have been able to complete a joint LGBT adoption at the time in which they added this child to their family. To protect both parents’ rights to the child, these same-sex couples must complete a stepparent adoption in Iowa.
A stepparent adoption is a fairly simple legal process, requiring no background checks. However, the noncustodial parent’s rights must be terminated — which, depending on the process through which that spouse added that child to their family, may have already been completed. Adoption attorney Ken Nelson can help you understand which legal steps are necessary for your stepparent, same-sex adoption in Iowa and guide you through them.
A stepparent adoption in Iowa may also be necessary if a same-sex couple is using some method of assisted reproductive technology. If one spouse is genetically related to the child but the other is not, a stepparent adoption may have to occur after the child’s birth to protect the non-genetically related parent’s rights.
If you think you may need to complete a stepparent adoption to protect your parental rights, please contact the Nelson Law Firm today.
Unmarried Second-Parent Adoption
Finally, gay couples adopting may be able to complete a second-parent adoption if they are unmarried and wish to protect their rights to an adopted child.
The availability of a second-parent LGBT adoption will vary by jurisdiction. You will need to speak to an adoption attorney to determine whether this is a viable same-sex adoption process for your location and your situation. The Iowa adoption statute does not mention the rights of unmarried couples to adopt together — just unmarried adults, a husband and wife jointly, or a stepparent. Therefore, the availability of second-parent adoptions is largely left up to the local courts.
For a guaranteed right to adopt a spouse’s child, same-sex couples should be married before pursuing the joint adoption or stepparent adoption process.
What to Consider About LGBT Adoption in Iowa
While same-sex couples adopting only recently gained the federal protection to do so, the debate over same-sex adoption has existed for decades: Should gay couples be allowed to adopt?
Research has proven time and time again that there is no negative impact on adopted children raised by same-sex parents. Therefore, the majority of adoption professionals today are honored to help complete gay and lesbian adoptions — and the Nelson Law firm is one of them. For gay couples adopting through private domestic infant adoption, there are many prospective birth mothers who are open to — and even specifically look for — same-sex couples to adopt their children. There are also thousands of children waiting to be adopted from the foster care system, and foster care agencies welcome adoptive parents of all sexual orientation.
Whatever kind of LGBT adoption in Iowa you wish to complete, attorney Ken Nelson can help with all of the necessary legal steps involved. To learn more about the services needed in your personal same-sex adoption journey, please contact the Nelson Law Firm today.