Consent to Adoption Relinquishment and Consent to Adoption Relinquishment means consent in the adoption context.  The adoption statute has a procedure for parents to voluntarily relinquish (consent to) placing their children for adoption.   The petition to relinquish a child may be filed separately or filed as a consolidated petition (one document) joining the [...]

Birth Father's Rights in Adoption Birth Father’s Rights and Responsibilities If a birth father is unknown or is unwilling to sign a consent to adoption and termination of his parental rights, a summons and petition for the termination of his parental rights must be filed and notice given to terminate his rights on [...]

International Adoptions Re-adoption of children adopted in foreign countriesA re-adoption is the process of “re-adopting” a child in the United States after the child has been adopted in another country.  In Washington, a re-adoption is a request to the Washington Superior Court to formally recognize the validity of a foreign adoption decree and grant [...]

Foster Child Adoption A child can be adopted from state foster care by private persons.  In these cases, the State of Washington Department of Social and Health Services has custody of the child through a Juvenile Court dependency proceeding.  When the child is “legally free” because the rights of the biological parents have [...]