Adoption Lawyers in Austin, TX

How Texas adoption works

Every Texas adoption is governed by Chapter 162 of the Texas Family Code. A judge can only grant an adoption when the child is legally free to be adopted. Under Section 162.001, that means each living parent’s rights have already been terminated, a termination case is filed together with the adoption, or the parent who keeps their rights is married to the person adopting.

For most Austin families, the adoption process follows the same path:

• Filing the petition in the county where the child lives or where you live (Section 103.001)
• Ending the other birth parent’s rights, by agreement or by a contested case
• Completing the adoption evaluation and criminal history checks
• Collecting written consents, including the child’s own consent at age 12 or older
• Attending a short final hearing where the judge signs the adoption order

If you are married, both spouses must join the petition. And if an earlier divorce or child custody case left another family law court with continuing jurisdiction, you can still file the adoption where you or the child live.

Termination of parental rights

Termination is what makes room for the new legal parent, and it is governed by Chapter 161. A parent can agree by signing an affidavit of voluntary relinquishment, which cannot be signed until at least 48 hours after the child’s birth (Section 161.103). When a parent will not sign, the court can still end that parent’s rights, but only on clear and convincing evidence of a statutory ground and a finding that termination is in the child’s best interest.

If a child’s father was never legally established, his rights are handled under the rules for an alleged father, which turn partly on whether he registered with the Texas paternity registry (Section 161.002). In those cases our work on sorting out a child’s legal father often runs alongside the adoption.

Stepparent adoption

Stepparent adoption is one of the most common types of adoption, often following a divorce and remarriage. Your spouse keeps every parental right, joins the petition, and does not sign a separate consent (Section 162.010). The other birth parent’s rights still have to be terminated, either by agreement or because the court finds grounds.

Stepparents also get one practical break. In an uncontested stepparent adoption, the court may waive the full adoption evaluation once it has reviewed the Department of Family and Protective Services records and the stepparent’s criminal history (Section 107.153).

Relative and kinship adoption

Grandparents, aunts, uncles and older siblings often step in when a parent cannot care for a child. A kinship adoption makes that arrangement permanent. Relatives follow the same Chapter 162 requirements as anyone else, and many already have standing to file because they have had exclusive care of the child for at least six months (Section 102.003).

Sometimes the road to adoption runs through a CPS case. If the Department has placed a child in your home, the adoption usually builds on that case, and our representation in Child Protective Services cases covers that stage too. And if what you want as a grandparent is regular time with a grandchild rather than full parental rights, a grandparent access case may be the better fit.

Adult adoption

Texas also allows one adult to adopt another under Section 162.501 and the sections that follow. Families use adult adoption to formalize a bond with a grown stepchild or to settle inheritance questions. There is no termination case, and the adult being adopted must consent in writing (Section 162.504). One consequence surprises people: under Section 162.507, the adopted adult inherits from the adoptive parents but can no longer inherit from or through the biological parents.

Home study and the six-month residence rule

Texas law now calls the home study an adoption evaluation. Under Section 162.003 and Chapter 107, a qualified evaluator looks at the home and social environment of each person asking to adopt, and the adoptive parents pay that cost (Section 107.153). In an agency or CPS adoption, the agency or the Department handles it. Each person seeking to adopt must also obtain their own criminal history record (Section 162.0085).

A Texas court generally cannot grant an adoption until the child has lived with the adoptive parents for at least six months (Section 162.009). On your request, the judge may waive that requirement if the waiver is in the child’s best interest, which makes the most sense when the child already lives with you, such as a stepchild you have helped raise for years.

The final hearing and a new name

The child’s managing conservator must consent in writing unless that person is the one adopting, and a child 12 or older must consent and usually attends the hearing (Sections 162.010 and 162.014). If the judge finds the requirements are met and the adoption is in the child’s best interest, the court signs the adoption order, which can also change the child’s name if you ask (Section 162.016). Anyone changing a name outside a child’s adoption uses a separate court process that our name change attorneys handle as well. From that day on, the order creates the parent and child relationship for all purposes, including inheritance.

Working with an Austin adoption attorney

Our Austin office at 1611 West Ave handles adoptions filed in Travis County, and our offices in Buda, Bastrop and New Braunfels handle adoptions in Hays, Bastrop and Comal counties. We also represent same-sex couples and LGBTQ+ parents adopting together. An adoption hearing is one of the happiest days in family court, and our job is to make sure the paperwork, consents and evaluation are finished before it.

If you would like to talk through your situation with an Austin adoption lawyer, request a consultation below or call (512) 400-2350.