Independent adoption in California

This is often a situation where the birth parent(s) meet with and agree to place their unborn child with you, the adoptive parent(s). In this situation, the birth parent(s) select you. An agency is not involved in the selection process. Usually you and the birth parent(s) are not related. If you are related, you can use the independent adoption process for relative adoptions.

When only one birth parent places the child for adoption with you, the other birth parent also needs to consent to the adoption. There are some exceptions. For example, you may not know who the other birth parent is or where they are. These exceptions require additional steps.

You may want to adopt a child who is your relative. Relative in this case means that you are related by blood or by a close connection. This can include aunts, uncles, step-relatives, grandparents (including great-grandparents and great-great-grandparents), as well as many other relatives. You can be related to the child or the child's half-sibling. You can also be the spouse of a relative, even if you are divorced from that spouse or the spouse is deceased.

In this case, both birth parents need to consent to the adoption. There are some exceptions. For example, you may not know who the other birth parent is or where they are. These exceptions require additional steps.

You may have been named in the will of a deceased parent or parents as an intended adoptive parent. In this case, the child must have no other parent in order to file for an independent adoption.

There are certain situations where you can file for adoption if you are a guardian. But there are some requirements based on how long you have been the guardian and how you became the guardian. You may be able to file for an independent adoption if:

1. You have been the child’s legal guardian for more than one year. This means that you have obtained an Order and Letters of Guardianship more than one year ago. In this case, you must have become the legal guardian through probate or family court, not dependency court.
2. You have been the child's legal guardian for over 6 months and you believe the child has been abandoned. Adopting a child in this situation is complicated. Consult with your Self-Help Center or a talk to a lawyer familiar with this situation before moving forward.
3. The parent chose you as a legal guardian for a specific time period for a purpose other than adoption. In this case, you must have been the legal guardian for at least 3 years.
4. The guardianship was obtained through the dependency court. In this case, you must have been the legal guardian for at least 3 years. You may be required to file within the dependency court system. Consult your local Self-Help Center or talk to a lawyer who is familiar with this subject.

If you are a foster parent (resource parent) and wish to adopt, reach out to the social worker assigned to your dependency case. This kind of adoption must be filed through dependency court and will be considered an agency adoption.

Married parents whose children were conceived through assisted reproduction or born through a gestational surrogacy process may be able to use a simplified adoption process to protect the legal parental rights of the parent or parents who did not give birth to the child.

This is a simplified adoption process called stepparent adoption to confirm parentage. Unlike other adoption cases, there's generally no investigation or court hearing.

Reach out to your Self-Help Center for advice. In general, you will need to identify the birth parents and get approval. If you cannot get approval, you typically need to hire a lawyer.