However, as much general information as possible is provided to all the parties about the others. Not all children available for adoption through private agencies are problem- free infants. There may be a long wait for such a child. However, generally a child is not placed with a family by an agency until after the birth parents' have legally surrendered the child or their parental rights have been terminated by a court. Thus, there is generally little uncertainty about the placement, and little or no concern that a birth parent will try to revoke the adoption placement.
Stepparent adoptions are quite common.
Often, a husband or wife may want to legally establish the parent-child relationship that already exists between him or her and his or her spouse's child. This is possible only if the child's absent biological parent is dead, consents to the adoption, or a court determines that the biological parent's consent is not required. When a stepparent adoption is finalized, this creates legal parental rights in the stepparent, and terminates the parental rights of the absent biological parents. Thus, it is very important to either obtain a legally valid written consent from the absent biological parent, if living, or to obtain a court order that the absent parent's consent is not required - after giving proper notice to the absent parent. Usually, the mere fact that an absent parent has not paid child support, or has not visited with the child, will not be enough reason for a court to excuse that parent's consent to the adoption.