Can I Adopt a Child I Am Related to in Illinois?

 Posted on March 28, 2024 in Adoption

It is an incredibly difficult decision for someone to relinquish their parental rights. This conclusion is generally by people for whom life has been too tough to function as parents are expected to. Perhaps the parents are dealing with severe mental or emotional conditions or battling a substance addiction, and they are unable to give their child a suitable home regardless of how much they love them. In some cases, a relative of the parents may want to adopt the child. This can often be the best option for the child, although it can be a complex process for the people who wish to adopt them. If you are considering related adoption of a family member’s child, speak with an experienced Cook County, IL adoption lawyer who can review the case and explain the types of complications you might expect to face.

How Does Related Adoption Work?

Related adoption happens when someone related by blood or marriage to a child adopts them. The adopted parents can be aunts and uncles, step-parents, siblings, or grandparents, among others. 

Adoption agencies are not required for related adoptions. However, if the child’s biological parents are alive, one or both will need to be willing to relinquish their parental rights. For example, if the child’s mother gets remarried and wants her new husband to be legally recognized as the father, he will need to go through the process of adoption. If the child’s biological father has died, then the court will consider this based on the new husband’s background. If the biological father is alive, he needs to relinquish his parental rights before the court considers the adoption. If both parents are alive but unable to properly care for the child and one set of grandparents wants to adopt her, both parents will need to relinquish their parental rights for this to proceed.

If the parents are unwilling to give up their parental rights, a process begins whereby they need to be proven unfit to raise the child. The reasons that can be used in such a claim are listed in detail in Illinois adoption law.

Contact a Chicago, IL Related Adoption Lawyer

If a child you are related to and love is not being properly cared for by her parents, it might be possible for you to step in and adopt her and raise her instead of them. For this to happen, the biological parents need to be willing to relinquish their parental rights or be deemed unfit as parents. A knowledgeable Cook County, IL adoption attorney can walk you through the process and answer your questions along the way.