Adopting Children in Mississippi

Family Law Attorneys in Jackson

One of life’s most gratifying experiences is giving a home to a child in need. At the Law Offices of Malouf & Malouf, PLLC, our lawyers want to help make that a reality. In Mississippi, before you can proceed with an adoption, the biological parents’ legal rights to the child must first be terminated. There are several ways this can be achieved. The easiest way is to obtain the consent of the biological parent(s). Another way for parental rights to be terminated is through the death of the biological parent(s). A third way to obtain parental rights is to convince a judge that the statutory grounds for involuntary termination of parental rights are present. Depending on your adoption case, you may have to go through more legal obstacles to ensure you are able to adopt the child.

Have questions? Call our Jackson family lawyers today at (601) 522-2222 for more information about the adoption process in Mississippi.

Statutory Grounds for Termination of Parental Rights

As previously discussed, one of the ways to obtain parental rights of a child is by convincing a judge that the statutory grounds for involuntary termination of parental rights are present. These grounds should be clearly seen in the life of the biological parent or legal guardian.

Statutory grounds for involuntary termination of parental rights include:

  • Child abuse
  • Parental desertion or abandonment of the child
  • Parental failure to have contact with child under the age of three for six months or a child over three years old for one year
  • Parental alcohol or drug addiction
  • Parental mental illness
  • Parental conviction of certain crimes against children.

The termination of one parent’s parental rights does not terminate the other parent’s rights. As such, one of the most common adoption situations is step-parent adoptions. If you are a step-parent and want to adopt, the parental rights of the biological parent must first be terminated as outlined above.

Trust Our Experienced Legal Counsel

Regardless of the facts of your specific situation, our experienced Jackson adoption attorneys will work to assist you through the entire process. We have more than 60 years of experience and have helped people just like you obtain the parental rights to adopt children.

We believe that our family-focused philosophy is the key to getting you the results that you desire. We maintain an honest and fair commitment to all of our clients. We provide quality legal counsel that is built upon compassion, integrity, and success.

Contact our firm of family law lawyers in Mississippi for a complimentary case evaluation today.