Is it 2008? Because this article just transported me back fifty-or-so years. It also further proves a point that many of today's birth mothers are saying: stigmas against single mothers are still alive and well.

Mothers who have relinquished in the past twenty years are often told that they don't know what it was like "back in the day." And I agree, to a point. While very few young mothers are now shipped off to homes and hidden from the public to relinquish their children in secret and silence, the... more

Hopefully you participated in yesterday's game. In case you missed it, the question I asked was:

What percentage of adoptions are contested?

I also gave information to help define what contested means.

Remember that contested means that a biological parent (or other pertinent entity) attempts to legally fight the adoption based on the laws that govern their state. This could be an accusation of fraud... more

Thursday? My weeks fly by. That said, I can't get away from adoption as of late. I've been trying to keep low key on how much adoption material I willingly subject myself to as of late. I need to do this from time to time to get back to the heart of the matter, which is my daughter. It's easy to get caught up in other things. While some things present a necessity for involvement, like reform, it's easy to get side-tracked by other things.

But man! Adoption seems to follow me everywhere I go. Here are thirteen places I didn't expect to be bombarded with... more

Remember just yesterday? (Okay, I don't remember what I wore or ate yesterday. Let me clarify.) Remember just yesterday when I talked about holding agencies, attorneys and the like to an ethical standard? And what would happen if our country imparted actual punishments to those who try to get past red tape and act in totally unethical and inappropriate manners? Did you think the sky would fall first, too?

Welcome... more

First let me say: in this game, everyone is a winner. Why? Well, there are no physical prizes. Wait! Don't walk away! Instead, everyone who plays (or, really, reads) will learn a little something! Learning is good. I try to learn something everyday, not necessarily about adoption but about life in general. So, I though I would help expand your knowledge about birth parents and their place in the adoption triad and process.

And, truth be told, I think I'll make this a weekly occurrence! Learning things each week surely can't hurt!

The preface of... more

I've been talking over the past two days about wills and things birth parents might want to consider with regard to their relinquished child(ren). I gave my personal reasons for including my placed daughter in my will and as a beneficiary on my life insurance. To wrap this discussion up, I thought I might give some ideas of things that could be passed on to your placed... more

Yesterday I gave some advice to all birth parents regarding relinquished children and inheritance laws. Basically, if you missed the post (go read!), whether or not you want your relinquished child to have access to an inheritance, you need to specifically state your desires in your will. I am now going to share my personal reasoning for including my placed daughter in both my will and as a beneficiary in my life insurance policy.

Disclaimer: These are personal... more

Apparently American agencies, social workers and attorneys are not the only ones who are stomping all over father's rights. In this story out of New Zealand, we can see how the unethical practices of adoption aren't unique to our country. The problem is world wide and, really, that's scary.

However, the silver lining to this story is two-fold: the child was returned to his father after he started a legal battle and the attorney who advised the mother... more

Not too many people like to spend an awful lot of time about thinking about what happens to their possessions should they pass, parents of all types should put some time and effort into making sure their wills are always up-to-date. Right now, of course, I'm going to talk about birth parents. Even more specifically, I'm talking to birth parents who want to make sure that their relinquished children inherit something upon their death.

The laws vary from state to state and that is why it is important for each first parent to know the laws that govern their... more

A first mother on a private adoption discussion recently posed a real-life question. I won't give specifics as to protect her situation from public opinion. However, in the most vague of terms, the birth mother found out some not-so-great information about her relinquished child's biological father. She didn't know what to do with it, whether or not she had a duty to tell the adoptive parents and how, if at all, involved she should become.

My advice? I told her to give the adoptive parents the information and let them do with it as they would as they were... more