(0 items)
- Home
- » Systemwide
- » Laws & Policies
- » State Laws on Adoption
- » State Laws on Postadoption
State Laws on Postadoption
Postadoption legal issues include the right of an adult adopted person to access his or her adoption records, contact between the birth and adoptive families after the adoption has been finalized, and the inheritance rights of adopted children.
Spotlight On
State statutes index and search
Access the Child Welfare Information Gateway State Statutes Series by title, or search statutes by individual States on issues related to child abuse and neglect, child welfare, and adoption.
State Statutes Series
| Access to Adoption Records: Summary of State Laws | |
| Series Title: | State Statutes |
| Author(s): | Child Welfare Information Gateway |
| Availability: | View Download (PDF - 497KB) |
| Year Published: | 2009 - 68 pages |
| In nearly all States, adoption records are sealed and withheld from public inspection after an adoption is finalized. Most States have instituted procedures by which parties to an adoption may obtain both nonidentifying and identifying information from an adoption record while still protecting the interests of all parties. This resource, current through June 2009, provides definitions of nonidentifying and identifying information, an overview of who may access such information, and information about access to original birth certificates. Summaries of laws for all States and U.S. territories are included. | |
| Intestate Inheritance Rights for Adopted Children: Summary of State Laws | |
| Series Title: | State Statutes |
| Author(s): | Child Welfare Information Gateway |
| Availability: | View Download (PDF - 310KB) |
| Year Published: | 2009 - 40 pages |
| Leaving a will is the best way to ensure heirs or descendants may inherit from your estate. Issues of property distribution may arise when a birth parent or adoptive parent dies without making a valid will or without naming an heir to particular property (referred to as "intestacy"). In these cases, State law determines who may inherit from whom. Laws in all 50 States, the District of Columbia, American Samoa, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands specify an adopted child?s rights of inheritance from and through the adoptive and birth parents. Current through March 2006, ... | |
| Postadoption Contact Agreements Between Birth and Adoptive Families | |
| Series Title: | State Statutes |
| Author(s): | Child Welfare Information Gateway |
| Availability: | View Download (PDF - 352KB) |
| Year Published: | 2011 - 48 pages |
| Presents State statutes on postadoption contact agreements, which are arrangements that allow contact between a child's adoptive family and members of the child's birth family or other persons with whom the child has an established relationship. Topics covered include States that do and do not have enforceable contract agreements, parties to agreements, the court?s role, and mediation. The laws presented are current through May 2011. | |
More From Information Gateway