encyclopedia.adoption.com/entry.php?title=informal%20adoption Info...

Informal Adoption - Adoption Encyclopediaencyclopedia of adoption informal adoption The rearing of a child as one s own, without benefit of legally adopting the child through the courts. Ever since and even before the pharaoh s daughter chose to raise Moses as her son, informal adoption has been a constant in our society. No longer popular among whites, it appears that many blacks still rely on informal adoptions. (This may be partly a function of necessity rather than desire. See BIRTHMOTHER.) Want to adopt Pregnant click here The problem with an informal adoption is that the child has no rights to the "adoptive" parents social security benefits, inheritance, and so forth, and the "parents" have no legal status as parents unless or until they formally adopt the child. In addition, birthparents and relatives may come back months or even years later and reclaim the child, with no recourse to the informal adopters. (See also RELATIVE ADOPTIONS.) Find more information on informal adoption Browse for other entries List AllABCDEFGHIJKLM NOPQRSTUVWXYZ See Also Preface, Acknowledgments, Introduction ©2000 by Christine Adamec and William Pierce, Ph.D. Reprinted from The Encyclopedia of Adoption, 2nd Edition (2nd Edition) with permission of Facts On File, Inc. library Archives Coping in the Aftermath of a DisasterAdoptionFoster ParentingChild and Family Welfare - SystemPregnancyParenting and FamiliesAdoption Statistics OverviewNumbers & TrendsBirth Family SearchCost of AdoptingDisruption & DissolutionDrug ExposureFiling Trends 1988-1997more...Adoption PoetryAdoption StoriesBooks Parenting BooksAnthologiesChildren s BooksClassics for Young ReadersCoffee Table BooksFamily Bonding BooksHow to Adopt Booksmore...Celebrities Adoptive Parent BiographiesBirth Parent BiographiesAdoptee BiographiesFamous Adoptees & Fosterees A-Z IndexIndexesFAQs Adoptee IssuesAdoptingAdvertisinge-MagazineForums & ChatFoster CareGeneral Topicsmore...Adoption Laws Review...