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Overview
Ensure a Smooth Path to a New Life
Adoption is an emotional process for all the parties involved. Are you prepared to assist and guide your clients through this highly emotional time in their lives? Whether you represent the birth parents or the adoptive parents, our faculty will update you on the latest adoption laws, help you understand various procedures and requirements, and give you the background you need to handle adoption cases without unnecessary delays, ethical problems, or surprises. Register today!
- Get all the adoption assistance available for your clients, including tax credits.
- Advise wisely on the differences between private placements and agency adoptions.
- Comply with the notice and consent requirements for terminating parental rights.
- Ensure clients are adhering to the Interstate Compact on the Placement of Children.
- Know your role in the interplay between social worker and guardians ad litem during the adoption process.
- Prepare for problems such as third-party challenges and dissolution of adoption.
- Advise clients knowledgeably with an understanding of current adoption law.
- Tackle sensitive ethical issues and other problems that are unique in adoption situations.
Abbreviated Agenda
- The Essentials of Adoption Law
- Offering the Different Adoption Options
- Practical Guide Through the Adoption Process
- Procedures for Terminating Parental Rights
- Resolving Interstate Adoption Issues
- Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA), Termination of Parental Rights, and Adoption
- Following Ethical Guidelines in Adoption Law
- What to Do if Something Goes Wrong
Credit Details
Credits Available
| Credit | Status | Total | Until |
|---|---|---|---|
| Arizona CLE |
|
6 Total | 05-16-2026 |
Select Jurisdiction
CLE
Agenda
-
The Essentials of Adoption Law
- Understanding the Definitions: Who May be Adopted
- Who May Adopt: Criteria and Qualifications
- Obtaining Adoption Assistance
- Helping Calculate Adoption Tax Credits
- Adhering to Federal Laws Affecting Adoptions
-
Offering the Different Adoption Options
- What Are Private Placement Adoptions?
- How Agency Adoptions Work
- Venue: Why It's so Important
- The Crucial Element of Consent
- When and How to Use Independent Options
- Circumstances for When it's Appropriate to Adopt an Adult
- Guidelines for Adopting Relatives
- Understanding Stepparent Adoptions
- Examining and Ensuring Foster Parent Rights
-
Practical Guide Through the Adoption Process
- Preparation of Pre- and Post-Placement Reports
- The Interrelated Roles of Social Worker and Attorney
- Determining Fees and Expenses
- How to Conduct a Thorough Background Check
- The Adoption Home Study: A Look into the Reality
- Working with Birth Parents: What You Need to Do
- State and Local Services Available to All Parties Involved
- Medical Care and Insurance Coverage for Birth Mother and Child
- Responsibilities of the Guardian Ad Litem
- Open Adoption and Determining the Degree of Contact
- Unique Considerations When Adopting Children With Disabilities
-
Procedures for Terminating Parental Rights
- General Requirements That Need to be Considered
- Obtaining Confirmed Consent and Surrender of Birth Parents
- Properly Dealing with Notice Requirements
- Observing Guidelines Governing Involuntary Termination
- Where Complaints May be Filed
- Issues Handled by State Common Pleas Courts
- When Default Proceedings May Move Forward
-
Resolving Interstate Adoption Issues
- What is the Interstate Compact on the Placement of Children (ICPC)?
- Dealing with Conflicts Between State Laws
- Navigating Multistate Adoption Procedures
-
Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA), Termination of Parental Rights, and Adoption
-
Following Ethical Guidelines in Adoption Law
- Identifying Conflicts of Interest
- Confidentiality in Adoption Cases
- Guidelines for Setting Fair Attorney Fees
- Observing the Rules of Professional Conduct
-
What to Do if Something Goes Wrong
- Rights of the Biological Parents vs. Adoptive Parents: Who Takes Precedence?
- Proving a Parent is Unfit in Contested Adoptions
- Tackling Third-Party Challenges
- Procedures for Dissolution of Adoption
- Withdrawal of Consent? What to do Next
- Correctly Handling an Appeal of the Adoption Decree
Who Should Attend
This basic-to-intermediate level online seminar is designed for professionals who want to learn more about adoption laws and proceedings. Those who should attend include:
- Attorneys
- Paralegals
- Adoption Agency Employees
- Social Workers
- Counselors
Speakers
Speaker bio
Steven H. Everts
is an equity partner with Udall Shumway and is a certified specialist in family law. He earned his B.A. degree, cum laude, from the University of Utah; and his J.D. degree from the University of Utah College of Law. Mr. Everts is a fellow of the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers; board-certified advocate in family trial law by the National Board of Trial Advocacy; judge pro-tem, Maricopa County Superior Court; and member of the State Bar of Arizona and Utah State Bar. He is admitted to practice in Arizona state and federal courts, Utah state and federal courts, and the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals.
Speaker bio
Hon. Todd Lang
is a Superior Court Judge in the Maricopa County Superior Court of Arizona.
Speaker bio
Tiffany D. Hill
is a partner with Pidgeon & Hill P.C., where she represents families in adoptions of foster children, private adoption, step parent and relative adoptions, interstate placements and agency placements. Ms. Hill is admitted to practice in Arizona. She is a founding board member of the Maricopa County National Adoption Day Foundation (currently serving as the Vice President), Maricopa County Bar Association Juvenile Division and the Arizona Women Lawyers Association. Ms. Hill also currently serves as President for the Arizona Adoption Coalition. She is a fellow of the American Academy of Adoption and Assisted Reproduction Attorneys.
Speaker bio
Kristy B. Blackwell
is a co-founder of Stuart & Blackwell, where they focus on adoption, adoption litigation, foster parent and dependency litigation, guardianships, estate planning, and family law and related litigation. Ms. Blackwell is an active member of the Academy of Adoption and Assisted Reproduction Attorneys, which is dedicated to the promotion and development of highly competent, ethical practices in adoption and children's law. She served as President from 2019-2022 for the Arizona Adoption Coalition, a statewide non-profit group of adoption agencies and professionals dedicated to improving adoption services and promoting adoption. Ms. Blackwell has spoken throughout Arizona on adoption and guardianship over her professional career. She earned her B.A. degree from Portland State University and her J.D. degree from Sandra Day O'Connor College of Law at Arizona State University.
Speaker bio
Cory A. Stuart
is a co-founder of Stuart & Blackwell, where they focus on adoption, adoption litigation, foster parent and dependency litigation, guardianships, estate planning, and family law and related litigation. Mr. Stuart is an active member of the Academy of Adoption and Assisted Reproduction Attorneys., which is dedicated to the promotion and development of highly competent, ethical practices in adoption and children's law. He is also a member of the Arizona Adoption Coalition, a statewide non-profit group of adoption agencies and professionals dedicated to improving adoption services and promoting adoption. Mr. Stuart earned his bachelor's degree from Arizona State University and his J.D. degree from Syracuse Law School.
Speaker bio
Blair Kennedy
is an attorney with Knoxville Family Law, practicing in family law with extensive experience in adoption, child welfare, child custody, and other related domestic issues. While in law school, Ms. Kennedy was active in the Women's Bar Association and interned with the Hinds County Chancery Court. She worked for the Mississippi Attorney General's Office, as a student attorney at the Rankin County Youth Court and as a guardian ad litem in Hinds County Chancery Court. Ms. Kennedy completed her B.S. degree at Austin Peay State University while working full time for the Tennessee General Assembly in Nashville. She earned her J.D. degree from Mississippi College School of Law. Ms. Kennedy is a member of the Knoxville Bar Association, Tennessee Bar Association and The Mississippi Bar.
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