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Book Review: The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Adoption

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The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Adoption is an overview of all types of adoption. Thus it is necessarily light on any one type. While it provides many “real-life snapshots” of various parties involved in all types of adoptions, it is a good general overview for initially researching adoption, rather than a manual I would refer to again and again (as, for example, I do with Real Parents, Real Children, in which I always seem to learn something new that applies to the different stages of life that our family moves through). The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Adoption is written by … Continue reading →

Adoption and Inheritance, Part Two

My last blog addressed the issue of inheritance rights between adopted persons and their adoptive parents and relatives. This blog addresses the issue of inheritance rights between birth parents (and their relatives) and their birth children who were adopted by other families. Bear in mind that these laws apply to the estates of those who die without making out a will specifying who they wish to inherit their assets. As I wrote in the last blog, state laws do change, and I am not an attorney. Much of the facts I use here are taken from the Encyclopedia of Adoption, … Continue reading →

Adoption and Inheritance Rights

Can an adopted child inherit from his/her birthparents as well as adoptive parents? Can a birthparent claim some of the estate of an adopted child who dies? In some states, the answer is yes! There are two major things to keep in mind when reading this blog: 1. This blog refers to state “intestate” inheritance laws, meaning laws regarding the estate of someone who dies without having made a will. If you make a will, you can direct that your money and other assets go to your adoptive child, your birth child, your adoptive parent, your birthparent, your neighbor’s third … Continue reading →

Book Review: The Encyclopedia of Adoption, Third Edition

The Encyclopedia of Adoption by Christine Adamec and Laurie Miller, MD contains brief entries on a large number of terms and subjects relevant to adoption. Adamec is a medical writer and Miller is a director of an international adoption medicine clinic. The book covers terms and issues found in domestic infant adoptions (both agency and independent), child welfare system adoptions, international adoptions, and kinship adoptions. The book’s focus is breadth, not depth. My first reaction was that, after nearly a decade of reading adoption magazines, I was not learning anything from the book. I thought it might be appropriate only … Continue reading →