Adoption Attorney, Lisa L. Collins, Esq., has provided some Adoption Basics for individuals starting their adoption journey:
What is the legal process?
No matter what kind of adoption, there are two legal steps in any adoption. The first is terminating parental rights in the birth parents; the second step is establishing parental rights in the adoptive parents. The second step is accomplished by filing an adoption petition where the adoptive parents live.
In Tennessee, non-relative domestic adoptions can be finalized six (6) months after the placement of the child in the home. International adoptions are treated differently depending on the child’s immigration status and whether the adoption was finalized in the foreign country.