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Illinois and Wisconsin

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Adoption Lawyer

photo of man facing away from camera holding child facing camera from the Pro Legal Care LLC page about Adoption

As an Illinois adoption lawyer, Attorney Zachary Townsend has spent over a decade helping families formalize their parental relationships through all forms of adoption. The staff at Pro Legal Care LLC will work with your family’s unique goals to help you create security moving forward.

Infant Adoption

Domestic infant adoption is a common form of adoption with which Pro Legal Care LLC and Attorney Zach Townsend are experienced. Whether your placement is through an agency or a private arrangement, we will help you navigate the legal process with clear and regular communication.

ICPC Adoption (Interstate Adoption)

Interstate adoption has special considerations under the Interstate Compact on Placement of Children Act. If you are looking to adopt a child who is currently in another state, or placing a child for adoption with a family in another state, you’ll want an Illinois Adoption Attorney who is experienced with the ICPC regulations and ready to make the process smooth and stress-free for you and your family.

Co-Parent Adoption

Sometimes called “second parent adoption“, we choose to describe this form of adoption as co-parent adoption because no parent is secondary to another. Co-parent adoption is often used when one parent has a biological relationship to the child and the other does not, such as in same sex relationships or same sex marriage.

While Illinois recognizes both parents of a child born to a same-sex marriage, many other states do not. Until all states recognize both parents, co-parent adoption is a safety mechanism to ensure the equal rights of both parents in a same-sex marriage because we cannot guarantee that your rights in Illinois will protect your family or be recognized in other states.

Stepparent Adoption

If you are raising a child whose biological parent is uninvolved, stepparent adoption can be a very rewarding way of formalizing the parent/child relationship that is already in practice in your home. There are significant legal benefits to making your parental rights legally recognized, including decision-making in health, education, and religious choices, and the ability to provide care in an emergency.

Attorney Townsend has successfully completed numerous stepparent adoptions and was a guest on a Rockford television program to speak about stepparent adoption.

Though stepparent adoption merely formalizes the way your family is already functioning, completing the process can be incredibly meaningful for both you and your child.

Relative Adoption

Families are structured in many ways and we are experienced in adoptions by grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, and more. Like stepparent adoptions, completing a legal adoption for the child you are raising provides security and clarity when decisions must be made for the child such as healthcare and education.

Adult Adoption

One of the most rewarding forms of adoption that we help provide is the adoption of an adult, often by the caretaker who raised them. When a biological parent doesn’t consent to an adoption or an adoption is otherwise not a choice while a person is still a minor, that person can choose to complete an adoption as an adult, which does not require consent by a biological parent. An adult adoption provides legal stability and legal clarity to you as an adult child of your parent.

If it would be meaningful to you or your parent to complete an adoption, schedule a consultation today to learn more about the process.

Contested Adoption

Contested adoption is another form of adoption in which Pro Legal Care LLC and Attorney Zach Townsend are experienced. When a biological parent is uninvolved, has abandoned a child, is unfit to be involved in the child’s life, or for other reasons is not parenting a child, the caretakers of the child may seek an adoption without the consent or cooperation of that biological parent. Contested adoptions are more complicated, costly, and more likely to require the involvement of an attorney in order to navigate the legal process and reach the desired goal.

Schedule a Consultation with Adoption Attorney Zachary Townsend

Call or text today – (815) 200-8802

During your consultation, Attorney Townsend will go over the history of your legal matter, ascertain your goals, and help you develop a new path forward for you and your family.

Adoption Articles by Attorney Zach Townsend

photo of confused man on a laptop from blog post titled Zoom Court Dos and Don'ts

Zoom Court Dos and Don’ts

Zoom court is one of the many changes to our judicial system and family courts as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic that is here…