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Article: Adoption
- Article from:
- West's Encyclopedia of American Law
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ADOPTION
A two-step judicial process in conformance to state statutory provisions in which the legal obligations and rights of a child toward the biological parents
are terminated and new rights and obligations are created between the child and the adoptive parents.
Adoption involves the creation of the parent-child relationship between individuals who are not naturally so related. The adopted child is given the rights, privileges, and duties of a child and heir by the adoptive family.
Since adoption was not recognized at common law, all adoption procedures in the United States are regulated by statute. Adoption statutes prescribe the conditions, manner, means, and consequences of ...