How to adopt a child in California

Adoption Attorney Stephen Ravel explains what the general legal requirements are in order to become an adoptive parent and how they can vary by state
Legal Requirements To Become An Adoptive Parent - Kidsinthehouse.com
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How to adopt a child in California

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In California, the only legal requirement for an adoption is that the adopting parent be more than 10 years older than the child. So, a single person can adopt. An unmarried couple can adopt. A married couple can adopt. A gay or lesbian couple can adopt. It only requires that the biological parent and the adopting parent agreed in the adoption. Other states have different requirement such as gays can't adopt in certain states or unmarried families can't adopt in certain states. So, the best advice you can get is check with the local attorney, find out what the local requirements are and see if you can meet those requirements.

Adoption Attorney Stephen Ravel explains what the general legal requirements are in order to become an adoptive parent and how they can vary by state

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Stephen Ravel

Adoption Attorney

Stephen Ravel attended UC Berkley for his undergraduate degree and Santa Clara Law School for his law degree. Stephen has been an attorney since 1973, and has been involved with adoption law since 1984. He has handled over 1,300 adoptions since the start of his career. Stephen is married and has three children. His oldest child was adopted from Brazil at birth.

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Transcription: 
In California, the only legal requirement for an adoption is that the adopting parent be more than 10 years older than the child. So, a single person can adopt. An unmarried couple can adopt. A married couple can adopt. A gay or lesbian couple can adopt. It only requires that the biological parent and the adopting parent agreed in the adoption. Other states have different requirement such as gays can't adopt in certain states or unmarried families can't adopt in certain states. So, the best advice you can get is check with the local attorney, find out what the local requirements are and see if you can meet those requirements.