Birth fathers have rights, but some states like Indiana put the burden on the father of the baby to protect his own parental rights. The extent to which the burden is on the father, the adoptive parents, or the birth mother depends on the state in which the adoptive parents file the adoption. We, at Kirsh & Kirsh, P.C. (“Kirsh & Kirsh”), try to file all adoptions for our adoptive parent clients in Indiana, even those involving births outside of Indiana. We can file an adoption in Indiana if the adoptive parents live in Indiana or the child is coming to, or in, Indiana. By filing the adoption in Indiana, we follow Indiana law, which does NOT require the birth mother to identify the father of the child unless he is her husband or has formally established paternity of the child. If the mother got pregnant in Indiana or a state with a putative father registry, the father of the baby has the obligation to look after his own rights and would need to register with the putative father registry in the state where the birth mother conceived the child. For a child conceived outside of Indiana, but adopted in Indiana, the father of the baby would NOT have to know to register with the putative father registry in Indiana. He could register with the putative father registry in the state of conception, if that state has a putative father registry, or PFR, as it is sometimes called. Also, for most Indiana adoptions, the birth mother’s name would NOT be published in a newspaper as required in some states without a putative father registry. A state that requires the adoptive parents to publish the birth mother’s name in the newspaper places the burden on the adoptive parents to give notice to the father rather than giving the father a way, like a putative father registry, to self-protect his parental rights.
We, at Kirsh & Kirsh – or the “Kirsh Boys,” as the adoption attorneys at Kirsh & Kirsh are sometimes called – Steve, and his brothers, Joel and Rob, and his son, Grant, pride themselves on answering questions about adoption and explaining the process without pressure or judgment. They cannot make adoption an easy choice, but they can make it less scary by removing some of the unknowns. Ultimately, a birth parent will have to decide if adoption is in their own best interests and the best interests of their child. We, at Kirsh & Kirsh, will not and cannot make that decision for anyone, but we can provide information and answers to questions – that way, you can make a well-informed decision.
Our contact information is below. We will answer your questions and provide you with the information you seek, without cost or obligation on your part. In other words, talking to us is FREE and does NOT mean you ever have to talk or text with us, again. The Kirsh Boys have 90 YEARS OF COMBINED EXPERIENCE practicing adoption law. We can help you in finding an AMAZING, WONDERFUL, adoptive home for your precious baby, whether you live in Lebanon or Indianapolis, Bloomington or Columbus, Evansville or French Lick, or South Bend or LaGrange, Decatur or Ft. Wayne, or any Indiana county or city in between, or ANYWHERE in Tennessee, Mississippi, or Kentucky.
We have lots of wonderful, carefully screened, loving families, FROM INDIANA AND ALL OVER THE COUNTRY (married, single, Lesbian, and Gay) who cannot wait to welcome a baby into their hearts and homes and are happy to assist with living expenses to the fullest extent allowed by law.
You can call, text, and or email us anytime -call: 317-575-5555, text: 317-721-2030, email: AdoptionSupport@kirsh.com, or Facebook message: https://www.facebook.com/KirshandKirsh/. We answer our office phone 24 hours a day, every single day. We try to respond to emails and text messages within minutes of receipt.
POSITIVE ADOPTION LANGUAGE DISCLAIMER: Please understand that these blog posts are written in a way to use language that people use when searching for help with their adoption plans. Unfortunately, while all of us understand what positive adoption language means, most expectant moms that come to us at first do not understand what that means. The most common search term on the Internet for expectant moms is “how do I give up my baby for adoption”. If we do not include those words in our blog posts, and instead put “how do I create an adoption plan for my baby” then our website will not show up in most expectant moms’ search results in Google.
