You may be an expectant mother in Indiana who knows that you are unable, because of finances or some other reason, to properly care for a new baby. However, you may be reluctant to put your child up for adoption because you want to have a place in his or her life and fear the loss of all contact. If this your situation, an open adoption may be the best solution for you, your child and the adoptive parents.
According to FindLaw, an open adoption allows you to maintain contact with your child and foster a relationship with the adoptive family. Even though an open adoption requires you to terminate your parental rights just like any other type of adoption would, the legal papers afford you rights to periodic visits with your child. In Indiana, you have the option of working with an adoption agency to select an adoptive family and make the arrangements, or if you have already made plans with prospective parents, you can arrange the adoption independently of an agency.
Open adoptions are frequently beneficial for everyone involved. Your child will have a relationship with you and not have the unanswered questions about his or her history or background that children of traditional adoption sometimes have. Open adoption also has the potential to reduce stress on both you and the adoptive parents.
However, open adoption is not without disadvantages. It is in your interest to maintain a good relationship with the adoptive parents because it is in their power to prevent you from seeing your child even if the adoption papers contain the legal visitation agreements.
The information in this article is not intended as legal advice but provided for educational purposes only.
