Texas Adoption

Adoptions laws are something that every state creates and enforces itself.

In Texas, adoption attorneys are not able to serve as an intermediary between adoptive couples and birth parents. Both birth parents much consent to the adoption. In the event of one or both parents' absence, a managing conservator can assume the parental rights in the adoption placement process. A conservator can be an individual or an agency. When it comes to consent, a birth mother cannot give consent until 48 hours after she gives birth. If the consent forms do not specifically list that it cannot be revoked once given (or if parental rights are given to the state's Department of Human Services)then the birth mother has an 11-day window to change her mind about the placement. The termination of parental rights will otherwise take place about 10 days after consent is given.

Legal birth mother fees in agency adoptions include: medical, legal, living and counseling expenses. Adopters cannot cover a birth mother's living expenses in independent adoptions.

According to the Human Rights Campaign website, any adult can petition for adoption in Texas. There are no explicit laws that prohibit gays and lesbians from adopting. Adoption petitions filed jointly by same-sex couples have also been previously approved by courts in Texas. A person can also adopt a partner's child as a stepparent.

For traditional stepparent adoptions, a background check and a child's adoption report, which contains information about the biological parents' medical history, is not required to be presented to the adoptive party.