Garfield County Guardianship and Adoption Attorney

While guardianship and adoption differ legally, the two share a deep commitment to a child and an adult who loves and wants only what is in that child’s best interests. Our Garfield County guardianship and adoption attorneys provides compassionate and knowledgeable assistance and stand behind the children and families in need of assistance. Taking on the role of a parent or a guardian in a child’s life can be a rewarding and fulfilling undertaking, as can regaining that role after placing guardianship of your child with a trusted caregiver.

Legally, the guardianship and adoption processes can be complicated at best. That is why the experienced Garfield County guardianship and adoption lawyers at Troxell Law strive to relieve you of the legal stress associated with guardianship and adoption proceedings.

Contact Troxell Law today to speak with Garfield County guardianship and adoption lawyers who are:

• • Compassionate and knowledgeable in all areas of family law;
  • Committed to creative plans that work for families; and
  • Passionate about personalized service and client advocacy.

Let a Guardianship and Adoption Attorney Help You

Your Garfield County guardianship and adoption attorney will work tirelessly to ensure you understand Colorado’s laws regarding guardianship or adoption and how these laws directly affect your circumstances. It is imperative you know all of your legal rights and obligations before proceeding with your matter.

Guardianship and adoption proceedings involve extensive paperwork, court documentation, and hearings. At Troxell Law, we will do the following and more on your behalf:

• • • • Prepare all of your legal paperwork;
      • File any court documents in a correct and timely manner;
      • Attend your court hearings;
      • Collect and present evidence on your behalf; and
      • Prepare and review any final court orders.

Learn more about the details surrounding your guardianship or adoption proceeding. Call Troxell Law’s Garfield County office today.

What is a Guardianship?

A legal guardian is responsible for the care and custody of a child. However, a legal guardian is not a child’s legal parent. In a guardianship, a child’s birth parents maintain their parental rights and responsibilities. This often includes the responsibility to pay financial support for a child.

Legal guardians must provide a child with:

• • • • Emotional and financial support;
      • Proper schooling;
      • The basic necessities needed to live; and
      • Maintain a child’s right to inherit from a parent or parents’ estate should they die.

A legal guardian has parental powers for the purpose of maintaining a child’s support, care, education, health, and welfare. Therefore, a legal guardian can:

• • • • Apply for and receive money for the support of a child otherwise payable to the child’s parent;
      • Take custody of a child and establish a child’s place of custodial dwelling;
      • Commence a proceeding or take other appropriate action to compel a person to support a child;
      • Consent to medical care and treatment for a child;
      • Consent to the marriage of a child; and
      • Delegate to a child certain responsibilities for decisions affecting a child’s well-being.

What is Adoption?

Adoption is the legal process by which a biological parent’s parental rights are terminated. There are several types of adoption, including but not limited to:

• • • • Stepparent;
      • Grandparent;
      • Kinship; and
      • Guardianship.

Before any adoptions can take place there must be a showing:

• • • 1. Of a legal basis to terminate the biological parent or parents parental rights; and
      2. That it is in the child’s best interests to be placed with an adoptive parent.

To be an adopting parent, an individual must typically:

• • • • Be twenty-one or older;
      • Pass background checks; and
      • Reside in Colorado.

Children twelve and older must normally consent to the adoption. Once approved, a child is issued a new birth certificate with their adoptive parent identified as their parent.

Contact an Experienced Garfield County Guardianship and Adoption Attorney

For more information on guardianship or adoption, call the expert family law lawyers at Troxell Law. We can gladly walk you through the process best suited to your circumstances and prepare you for your next steps as a prospective parent or guardian. If you would like to sever a guardianship, an attorney at Troxell Law can also provide you with the help you need to proceed with taking back physical custody of your child.

Regardless of your situation, let Troxell Law help you meet the best interests of the child in your life. Contact our office today for more information.