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 experienced practitioners 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. Order today!

• Who May Adopt?
• Who May Be Adopted
• Types of Adoption
• Pre-Placement Studies
• Post Placement Reports
• Temporary Custody Orders
• Relinquishment of Parental Rights/Consent to Adoption
• Consents from Other States
• Irrevocable Consents/Contingent Consents
• Unknown/Unfound Birth Fathers
• Default Judgments
• Open Adoptions

PM SESSION - ADOPTION LAW BEYOND THE BASICS

• Interstate and Federal Adoption Issues
• Ethical Guidelines in Adoption Law
• Adoption Issues Regarding Gay/Lesbian Families, Reproductive Technologies and Surrogacy

Continuing Education Credits:   

* denotes specialty credits

AM SESSION - THE ESSENTIALS OF ADOPTION LAW
9:00 - 10:30 and 10:45 - 12:15, Joyce S. Schwensen

WHO MAY ADOPT?
WHO MAY BE ADOPTED?
TYPES OF ADOPTION

1. Adoption of Children Under State Care
2. Private Adoptions
3. Direct Placements
4. Relative Adoptions
5. International Adoptions

PRE PLACEMENT STUDIES

1. When Required
2. Who May Prepare a Pre-Placement Report
3. What Must be Included in a Pre-Placement Report

POST PLACEMENT REPORTS

1. When Required
2. Who May Prepare a Post Placement Report
3. What Must be Included in a Post Placement Report
4. How Many PostPlacement Reports are Required

TEMPORARY CUSTODY ORDERS
RELINQUISHMENT OF PARENTAL RIGHTS/CONSENT TO ADOPTION

1. Petition for Relinquishment
2. Petition for Adoption
3. Consents to Adoption and Waiver Notice
   1. Whose Consent is Required
   2. Form of Consent

CONSENTS FROM OTHER STATES
IRREVOCABLE CONSENTS/CONTINGENT CONSENTS

1. When Consent Becomes Irrevocable
2. Method of Revocation of Consent

UNKNOWN/UNFOUND BIRTH FATHERS
DEFAULT JUDGEMENTS

1. Order of Default
2. Entry of Order of Termination by Default

OPEN ADOPTIONS

PM SESSION - ADOPTIONS LAWS BEYOND THE BASICS

INTERSTATE AND FEDERAL ADOPTION ISSUES
1:15 - 2:15, Janna J. Annest

1. Complying with the Interstate Compact on the Placement of Children (ICPC)
2. Dealing with Conflicts Between State Laws
3. Adhering to Federal Laws Affecting Adoptions
   1. Indian Children Welfare Act
   2. Service Members Civil Relief Act
   3. Adoption and Safe Families Act of 1997
   4. Howard Metzenbaum Multiethnic Placement Act of 1994
4. Calculating Adoption Tax Credits

ETHICAL GUIDELINES IN ADOPTION LAW
2:30 - 3:30, Janna J. Annest

1. Identifying Conflicts of Interest
2. Confidentiality in Adoption Cases
3. Guidelines for Setting Fair Attorney Fees
4. Observing the Rules of Professional Conduct

ADOPTION ISSUES RELATING TO GAY/LESBIAN FAMILIES, REPRODUCTIVE TECHNOLOGIES AND SURROGACY
3:30 - 4:30, Barbara J. Wechsler

1. Legal Basis for Approval of Gay/Lesbian Adoptions
2. Assisted Reproduction/Second-Parent Adoptions for Lesbian Couples, Using Known Donors/Sperm Banks
3. Surrogacy/Second-Parent Adoption for Gay Couples and Traditional Families
4. Tri-Parent Adoptions
5. Impact of Domestic Partnership Registration and Parentage for Gay and Lesbian Families

JANNA J. ANNEST is an adoption attorney at Mills Meyers Swartling in Seattle, Washington. She earned her J.D. degree, with honors, from the University of Washington School of Law in 2003 and has practiced with the law firm of Mills Meyers Swartling since that time. During law school Ms. Annest served as the notes and comments editor of the Washington Law Review. She graduated cum laude and with high honors from Dartmouth College in 2000 and was a visiting student at Oxford University. Ms. Annest currently serves as president of the Dartmouth Alumni Club of Western Washington and on the board of Adoptive Friends & Family of Greater Seattle (AFFGS). She was named a "Rising Star" by Washington Law and Politics magazine in 2009 and 2010. Ms. Annest also is an adoptive parent. She is a member of the King County and Washington State bar associations.

JOYCE S. SCHWENSEN is a sole practitioner in Seattle, where her areas of practice include adoption law, general practice, real estate and business law. Ms. Schwensen is the executive director of Adoption Assistance and Homestudy Services, a licensed Washington State adoption agency. She earned her B.A. degree, summa cum laude, from Washington State and her J.D. degree from the University of Washington. Ms. Schwensen is a member of the Seattle-King County, Washington State and American bar associations.

BARBARA J. WECHSLER has been a sole practitioner and mediator for more than 25 years, where her expertise is in family law, adoption and legal issues of reproductive technologies, with an emphasis in assisting gay and lesbian clients in creating legally protected relationships with children through adoption, assisted reproduction and surrogacy. Ms. Wechsler was one of the first attorneys to obtain approval of second-parent (1988) and tri-parent (1996) adoptions in King County. She has been a presenter at more than fifteen family law CLE seminars, including presentation on second-parent adoptions at a 2006 judicial conference. Ms. Wechsler was one of eight attorneys who established Volunteer Attorneys for Persons with AIDS (VAPWA), a program now sponsored by the King County Bar Association. She is a prior board member and chair of the Family Law Committee of the Northwest Women's Law Center (now Legal Voices). Ms. Wechsler earned her undergraduate degree from New York University and her J.D. degree from Columbus School of Law, Catholic University, in Washington D.C.

Please refer to Continuing Education Credit FAQ for general information about seeking credit for your participation in one of our continuing education programs.

Additionally, our team of credit specialists are here to answer your specific credit-related questions weekdays 7am - 5pm Central:

Phone: 866-240-1890

Email: credit@nbi-sems.com