Adoption

Domestic or International Adoption Assistance

Do you have a dream of building your own family? Have you explored other possibilities without the results you were hoping to achieve? The option of adoption may be for you.

At the law office of Mary Catherine Barrett, we provide representation to prospective adoptive parents and birth parents in all types of adoptions. Whether you are considering adoption of a child you know, a domestic adoption, or an international adoption, we can help you reach your goal of building a safe, forever family.

We assist with every type of adoption and adoption-related matter in Ohio, across the U.S. and abroad, including:

     

  • Attorney-arranged adoptions

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  • Adoption tax credits

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  • Domestic and interstate adoptions and ICPC compliance

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  • Private-placement infant adoption

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  • Agency-assisted adoptions

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  • Adoption of older kids or from foster care

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  • Adoption of children with special needs

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  • Grandparent, relative and step-parent adoptions

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  • International adoptions and Hague Convention cases

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  • Adoption for single parents

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  • Adoption and guardianship for same-sex couples

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  • Adult adoption

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  • American citizenship and immigration approval for foreign-born children

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  • Dossier preparation and authentication

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  • Guardianship and re-adoption

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  • Preparation of legal birth certificates

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  • Help for Prospective Adoptive Parents Across the U.S. and Worldwide

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Unlike law firms that handle a wide range of legal issues, we work exclusively in the areas of adoption, surrogacy law and assisted reproduction. You can be assured that our firm is up to date on U.S. adoption law, as well as the changing conditions for adoption worldwide.

 

Domestic and Interstate Adoption

 

We represent clients locally in Ohio, in interstate adoptions nationwide, and worldwide. For U.S. clients involved in adoptions in other states, we assist you and recommend steps to take during your adoption, and guide you through the adoption process. We can also review contracts prepared by other adoption agencies and offer experienced consultation on the adoption process.

We have successfully handled interstate adoptions in Ohio, Tennessee, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, Oklahoma, Texas, Kansas, Colorado, Nevada, California, Washington, Georgia, Florida, Pennsylvania, New York, New Jersey, Massachusetts and Washington, D.C.

We will help you submit a “life book” for birth parents to review. Once you have been selected as the person or couple the birth parents wish to place their baby with, we will continue to guide you through the adoption process. Attorney Mary Catherine Barrett will represent you in court to ensure that your adoption is completed in a professional, timely and compassionate manner. We will continue to stay in touch with you even after the finalization of your adoption through seminars and an annual picnic.

 

International Adoption

 

As an international adoption lawyer, Mary Catherine has helped our clients bring their children home from Russia, China, Brazil, Guatemala, Colombia, Mexico, Nepal, Ukraine, Taiwan, Indonesia, and Japan. We have even handled cases involving both Thailand and Morocco, where there is either no adoption law or the courts do not handle adoption, We also handle re-adoption in the U.S. when you have chosen a child from India, Thailand, Morocco, Ethiopia or another country where the law grants guardianship rather than full parental rights.

 

We handle the entire process, offering experienced advice and representation on the Hague Convention, dossier preparation, I-600A/I-171H approval and authentication, review of medical reports, and providing essential information on the potential legal problems with international adoption and advice on how to avoid them.

 

Mary Catherine has traveled to Russia 12 times to arrange adoptions, handling cases in Moscow, Vladimir, Nizhny Novgorod, Perm, Smolensk and Vladivostok, and she just submitted her first dossier for a child in Brazil.

 

Hasn’t enough time passed you by? Isn’t it time to begin to realize your dream of a family? Contact our law firm for an informational meeting to review all of the options to grow your family through domestic or international adoption, or to place a child for adoption. We are excited to help you build your family through adoption.

 

Our office hours are 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. Central time (U.S.), with additional hours available by appointment. We can also accommodate home meetings for local clients or others whose situation requires it.