TROUBLED pop singer Britney Spears, who recently lost permanent custody of her two sons, Jayden James and Sean Preston to ex-husband Kevin Federline, is planning to adopt Chinese twins.

Online reports on sites including Showbizspy.com and Britain's News Of The World newspaper, have stated Britney, 25, confided to pals that she's in the final stages of talks with an adoption agency and plans to go ahead with the adoption very soon.

The news of Brits planned adoption comes after Spears former husband, Kevin Federline was awarded full custody of their two sons.

A photographer snapped the Gimme More singer - who still has access to the two boys, enjoying some time with Jayden and Sean at her home in LA on Friday.

Friends of the singer reckon that Britney has elected to adopt the two six-year-old children from China in a frantic bid to fill the void left by losing her sons to K-Fed.

Britney was also banned from driving with the kids in the car after she ran a red light in Hollywood.

And, according to further reports, Britney has also spent $50,000 on arranging her own funeral!

Spears allegedly splashed the cash arranging her funeral because she fears her spiralling lifestyle may lead to an early grave.

Brit's bizarre purchase has left her friends and family worried that she is becoming increasingly depressed and that her unhealthy lifestyle is taking its toll.

A source close to Britney said: "It doesn't seem that Britney has thought this through completely. Adoption and a funeral? The two don't exactly go hand-in-hand.

"Paying for a funeral is a sensible thing to do but not when youre only 25!

"It's a case of too much, too soon with Britney.

"Not a week goes by without something strange happening to her now. She's doing herself no favours.

Tags: Adoption General Information, international adoption

* Who is eligible to adopt?

If you are fully committed to the decision to adopt, then you already have the most essential factor to gaining custody of a child. Moreover, if you can provide for the basic needs of a child as well as give him a nurturing environment then you may adopt. Here are some factors that will help you know who is qualified to adopt:

- Single individuals who are 21 years old and above
- Married couples who are childless or who have other children
- The emotional and physical well-being of potential adoptive parents is also taken into consideration

* I am single, can I adopt?

Yes. Even though you are single you have the option to adopt if you wish, given that you are 21 years old and above.

Commitment is the essential factor that most agencies are looking for in adoptive parents. A caring environment is necessary to ensure that the adopted child will grow into a productive adult.

* Is a special needs adoption the right choice for me?

If you are the type of person who is patient, has ample time to give the needs of a special child as well as shower him with the love he needs, then adopting a child with special needs may be for you. Emotional stability is needed to hurdle the many trials you will face with the decision to adopt a child with special needs.

Additionally, being financially and physically strong can be helpful in overcoming the challenge of being an adoptive parent to a child with special needs.

* Should I do international or domestic adoption?

There are numerous factors for you to consider before jumping into the decision to choose either international or domestic adoption. Such factors are:

- Travel. Once you decide to adopt internationally, you are required to personally pick up the child from his or her country. Normally you are required to stay for a week. There are times that the length of stay for adoptive parents can be up to three weeks.

On the other hand, adopting a child within your state will not require you extensive and intercontinental travels.

- Expenses. Surveys show that international adoption is the most expensive type of adoption since there are many documents to prepare as well as fees to pay. On the other hand, opting for a domestic adoption is not as costly as international adoption. There are times when domestic adoption can be free of charge. Each case is individual.

- Adoption Training. It is recommended for domestic adoption to attend trainings and seminars before gaining custody of a child. While international adoptions do not normally have required training.

* What are some legal issues in adoption?

Legal issues in adoption differ from one state to another or from one country to another. It also depends on the type of adoption from which you will be choosing. Hence, if you plan to adopt, it is recommended that you research and be familiar with the existing laws and regulations on adoption in your area.

* How can the Internet help me in adopting a child?

The Internet is a good venue for you to adopt a child. Most adoption websites will help you get through the adoption process. Here are some common factors you may encounter via the Internet when adopting a child:

- Initial process of adopting a child - the things you need to know to start the process
- Information on the selection process and post-adoption process
- Wide selections of adoption institutions
- Support groups
- Photos of children waiting to be adopted

 

About the Author:

Annecy Ashburn is a regular contributor to adoption and infertility-related resources such as Adoption Questions and Answers. Website: http://www.AdoptionQA.com

 

Tags: adoption agency, adoption forums, Adoption General Information

 

An associate of mine finds it very interesting that any couple in this world, no matter how rich or poor, no matter what they do for a living, no matter if they have a criminal record or not, no matter what kind of persons they are, can have as many kids as they like and nobody can say one word about it. But when a middle class, hard working, law abiding couple wants to adopt a child they have to jump through more hoops than a clown at a three ring circus. He wonders why. In this article we'll try to explain some of the problems and red tape associated with a couple trying to adopt a child.

For starters, adoption law varies from state to state. Yes, there are laws, and depending on where you live those laws can be quite different but there are some laws that are pretty common across the board. There is the Consent to Adoption. This consent refers to the agreement by a parent, or a person or agency acting in place of a parent, to relinquish the child for adoption and to release all rights and duties with respect to that child. In other words before you can adopt the child the birth parent or agency in charge, if the birth parents are dead, has to give consent for the adoption to take place.

Then there is the parties to adoption. In order for an adoption to take place, a person available to be adopted must be placed in the home of a person or persons eligible to adopt. All States, the District of Columbia, and the US territories Guam, Puerto Rico, American Samoa, the Northern Mariana Islands, and the Virgin Islands have laws that specify which persons are eligible as adopting parents, and which persons can be adopted. In other words they decide whether or not they think the adoptive parents are fit and this varies from state to state.

So who CAN adopt? Generally speaking anyone over the age of 18 but in some states 21 and still in others the minimum age is 25. Again, this is all state regulated. There are some states that allow minors to adopt under certain circumstances but this is very rare. In some states the adopting parents must be at least 10 years older than the child. So if you want to adopt a 15 year old boy you have to be at least 25 years of age. Then there is the residency question. Most states require that you be living at your current residence for at least 60 days.

So who can BE adopted? Generally, anyone under the age of 18. Of course depending on the state there are some additional requirements. For example, in some states the child has to be living in that state at the time of the adoption. So if you wanted to adopt someone from overseas you wouldn't be able to. In some states this extends further to the child having to be a resident for a certain length of time. Some states do allow the adoption of a person regardless of age but this is very rare. Then there is the question of WHO can place a child for adoption. This is usually the birth parent or parents unless both are dead and then it is the agency to which custody of the child was appointed.

But this gets even more complicated. What if the birth mother and father are not married and the mother wants to put the child up for adoption but the father does not? This becomes an extremely messy situation. First there is the court battle between the mother and father to determine who gets the say in the matter. In most cases unless the mother is proven unfit the right to place the child up for adoption is granted. If not, however, then a determination has to be made as to whether or not the father is given custody of the child. We are assuming at this point that since he was against the adoption that he will want to keep the child, but he is in no way legally obligated to do this and can put the child up for adoption at a later date.

Then there are the adoption fees. In most states the adoptive parents have to pay these fees and they can be enormous, going into the tens of thousands of dollars. My associate thinks this is absurd. The parents don't want the child but it's the adoptive parents who have to pay to get the child even though the child isn't wanted. Some would say that is hard logic to argue with. As you can see, adoption is not simple. Add to all the above that the adoption process can be a very lengthy one, sometimes taking years, it makes you wonder why anyone would go through the trouble. For that matter why would someone have to when there are so many unwanted children in the world? It gives you something to think about.

About the Author

Michael Russell Your Independent guide to http://african-safari.guide-to.info

Tags: adoption agency, adoption costs, Adoption General Information

The author talks about her experience with infertility
Most people dont give adoption much thought. We tend to see it as a fine thing in a vague sort of way but were sure its not for us.

I would have agreed with this years ago but a number of things have happened to change my mind.

Back in 1988 when we married, my husband and I assumed wed have children right away. He thought two would be nice while I secretly preferred something along the lines of six or more. When three years had passed with no pregnancy I wasnt alarmed exactly; it was like hearing a siren from miles away and wondering where the fire was. Shortly after our fifth wedding anniversary I realized that something really was wrong. That siren was ringing for me.

I went to see a doctor, and then another. And then I saw a infertility specialist. I read books, underwent tests that became increasingly more uncomfortable until finally, I ended up having procedures done that were considerably painful. Ive taken expensive medications and lived my life by the charts my doctor set up. To back up Western medicine I consulted naturopathic doctors and even took a trip to Chinatown and visited an elderly Chinese herbalist. He gave me a bottle full of slimy, foul smelling black pills. A few years earlier I wouldve laughed and walked out. After seven years of infertility I bought the pills and took four everyday. With this full scale bombardment of my reluctant reproductive system I got pregnant. Four times actually. Each pregnancy ended in miscarriage before I even realized that I was pregnant in the first place.

Infertility is like being force fed a belly full of bitter water everyday of your life. Ive felt every emotion from shame, to fear, to rage so boiling hot it frightened me. Its impossible to live this way for very long and eventually my husband convinced me that there might be another way: adoption.

We looked into adoption very cautiously. As we attended seminars and adoption fairs we both noticed something interesting: we were almost always the only black people there. Although it often felt like it, we werent the only black couple fighting infertility in America and the adoption seminars and agencies we researched dealt primarily in placing black and mixed raced children. What was going on?

Black culture has always embraced informal, family adoption. When young Susie got pregnant out of wedlock it was common for Grandma or Aunt Lucy to step in and raise the child as their own. If Cousin Della got sick or died leaving young children you could be sure that some relative would take them home. Today millions of black women find themselves raising grandchildren because the AIDS epidemic or the scourge of drug abuse has destroyed their children.

The trouble, I think lies with the perceived red tape that goes along with formal adoption. Unless you are a celebrity or are very rich there are two hurdles that you must clear in order to adopt an American child. First, as crass as it sounds you need ready cash and lots of it. Even if you turn to a state run agency you must be prepared to spend several thousands of dollars. Second, your life will be examined by a disinterested person who is looking for trouble. You will need personal references, your credit will looked into and if youre married, that stability of your marriage will be probed for any sign of weakness. Many people, black and white find this discovery process to be distasteful but I really cant object to it. Children awaiting adoption are not pets or toys. Every effort must be made to be sure that they dont end up in bad homes. Little Candace Moody and Lisa Steinberg are two examples of what horrors can occur when a helpless child is handed over to an unstable person. Both these children died horrible deaths because they were adopted by the wrong people.

The North American Council on Adoptable Children (NACAC) says that there are currently about 53,000 black kids waiting for adoption. Most of them will spend five or more years in foster care. The ones who dont find homes will be essentially set adrift once they reach age 18. Thats not good enough. At those adoption seminars I met white couples who were willing to adopt black children but they are a drop in an ocean of need. Transracial adoption as controversial as it is only accounts for less than ten percent of adoptions nationwide. Adopting a child takes more than love. If you have the patience to endure the process, room in your heart and home, and yes, the willingness to spend the money, consider adopting. Black parents are desperately needed and the kids cant wait any longer.

About the Author

Kimberley Lindsay Wilson's guest editorials and book reivews have appeared in over 100 newspapers across the country. She is a contributing writer for numerous e-zines and is the author of 11 Things Mama Should've Told You About Men and the newly revised Work It! The Black Woman's Guide to Success at Work.

Tags: Adoption General Information, domestic adoption, Interacial Adoption

International Adoption - The Basics of Adopting from another Country
By Patrick Phillips

The issue of “Foreign Adoption”, “Overseas Adoption”, “International Adoption”, “Intercountry Adoption”, call it what you will or prefer, has been raised a great many times. The common misconception of a well meaning family from the developed world carrying a suitcase full of cash and dubious papers to some shady third world agency and coming home with a child wrapped in blankets seems to arise every now and then. Probably because occasionally (and I emphasise the word occasionally) this does indeed happen but on a great many more occasions (and very much in the majority of cases) the process is entirely different, well run and works extremely efficiently.

This article serves by and large to provide a basic understanding of what International Adoption (Foreign Adoption etc) is all about and the basic International Legislation that covers it.

Firstly the basic question arises time and time again, why do many International Governments allow Adoptions from another Country to happen when there are probably still a great many children within the country who need new families. Well basically the answer is as follows, although there are many children at home looking for an adoptive family, there are still many children in other countries who need homes. Adoption from abroad may be their only opportunity to belong to a permanent family. For humanitarian reasons, Government allow International Adoptions to proceed where:

• the child cannot be cared for in any suitable manner in his/her country;

• the adoption would be in the best interests of the child and with respect to the child's fundamental rights as recognised in international law; and

• the adopter has been assessed as eligible and suitable to adopt from abroad by a registered adoption agency (a local authority or voluntary agency registered to work on International Adoptions).

Currently it can take anything from 1-3 years in total to adopt a child from another country, depending on the adoption system in the other country and the availability of suitable children for adoption.

The world of International Adoption has by it’s very nature needed very tight legislation – after all child trafficking is an extremely abhorrent, cruel and nasty practice (not to mention very illegal) and now it appears that this legislation is now starting to take effect. The major item of International Law that covers International Adoption is the Hague Convention.

The 1993 Hague Convention on the Protection of Children and Co-operation in respect of Intercountry Adoption aimed to establish an international system of co-operation that aims to prevent the abduction of, the sale of, and illegal traffic in children. The Convention requires that International adoption happens only when it is in the child's best interests, that all adopters are assessed and approved as suitable to adopt and that no profit is made from the adoption process.

Where an adoption has been completed under the Hague Convention the child will automatically receive Citizenship from the Country that you or your partner originates from. The adoption will be automatically recognised in all other contracting Countries.

Taking this all into account is it still possible to legally adopt a child from a Country that has not either recognised or been recognised by the Hague Convention? The Answer to this question is yes, but if the adoption order is not recognised in the country of either origin or your own, you will need to re-adopt the child in a domestic court from your own country for the adoptive relationship to be legally recognised.

What is the process for adopting from a Hague Convention country? You should first contact your local authority social services department or a registered adoption agency to discuss your plans to adopt a child from a Hague Convention country. Your agency will provide advice and information about adoption that will set out the legal requirements and procedures for adopting from a Hague Convention country.

If you are eligible to adopt under the Hague Convention, the social services department or a registered voluntary adoption agency will carry out an assessment of your suitability to adopt, involving in-depth social worker interviews, police and medical checks and interviews with your personal referees (privately commissioned assessments are not acceptable).

The information gathered, on which you will have an opportunity to comment, will be presented to the social services department or adoption agency's panel. The panel will consider the assessment and make a recommendation about whether you are suitable to adopt.

A senior manager at the agency will then, taking the panel's recommendation into account, make a decision about whether to approve you as suitable to adopt.

An Adoption Order severs all legal ties with the birth family and confers parental rights and responsibilities on the new adoptive family. The birth parents no longer have any legal rights over the child and they are not entitled to claim him back. Your child becomes a full member of your family; they take your surname and assumes the same rights and privileges as if they had been born to you, including the right of inheritance.

Bringing up a child can be mutually rewarding and great fun, as well as being hard work and a big responsibility. This is especially so when you choose to bring up a child who was not born to you.

As of the time of writing this article (things do change from time to time) a fairly comprehensive list of member governments who have signed up to this convention can be found at: http://www.internationaladoptioninformation.com/hagueconventionmembercountries.html

Patrick is the principal advisor for International Adoption Information, an independent advisory organisation in Social and Child Welfare. http://www.internationaladoptioninformation.com, http://www.internationaladoptionusa.info and http://www.internationaladoptionresourcecentre.com

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Tags: Adoption General Information, adoption in the uk, african adoption, scottish adoption records, taiwan adoption agency, us adoption agency handling belize adoptions