Virginia Adoption Law: Overview, Procedures, and Updates

Half of handling an adoption with excellence is determining which type of adoption it is. In this program, Karen Stoutamyer Law, an attorney who limits her practice to adoption and immigration-related issues for children, will assist you in learning how to quickly find the correct pathway and the relevant Virginia code sections for your type of adoption. You will also learn procedures for finalization of a domestic agency, foster care, or readoption case are similar, and this course will provide a step-by-step guide that will cover all three areas - including new updates to statutes. You will also learn how to handle a direct parental placement and strategies for contested adoptions and assess when to call in an immigration expert to partner with you in your domestic adoption case.

Learning Objectives:

1. Identify different types of adoption and review relevant code sections

2. Explain stepparent adoption strategies: non-consenting biological parent and new unmarried partner pathway

3. Analyze procedures for close relative adoptions

4. Apply step-by-step instructions to finalize a private agency, foster care, or foreign adoption

5. Recognize when to call in an immigration expert for the adoption of a foreign-born child in your domestic adoption