Adoption & Guardianship/Conservatorship

Adoption & Guardianship/Conservatorship

Experts in Aurora, NE

Whitney, Newman, Mersch, Otto & Grafton offers a full range of legal services to our clients in Aurora and the surrounding regions of Nebraska. No matter how severe your case may seem, you can always trust our team to give you reliable advice based on years of experience in the industry. We will walk you through all your options and help you to come up with the best solution for your specific situation. One of the most sensitive legal topics that someone can have to face is an adoption, guardianship or conservatorship case. When emotions are running high and the wellness of a loved one is involved, we will respect the gravity of the situation and help you to get the best outcome for all involved. Learn more about these cases below:

ADOPTION

Adoption is the legal process of establishing a legal parent-child relationship when the adopting parent is not the child’s biological or birth parent. That means that once the adoption is final, the adoptive parents have all the legal rights and responsibilities of a parent-child relationship. That new parent-child relationship is permanent and is exactly the same as that of a birth family. An adoptive parent can be a spouse of one of the birth parents, a relative who has been caring for the child or even someone not related.

Types of Adoptions

Stepparent adoption:

  • The spouse of the child’s parent adopts the child.
  • The couple must be legally married.
  • It is the most common type of adoption.
  • It is simpler than other types because one of the child’s birth parents still remains the child’s parent.

An independent, agency, or international adoption:

Independent adoption is when no adoption agency or the Department of Social Services is part of the adoption case.

Agency adoption is when the Nebraska Department of Social Services or a licensed adoption agency is part of the adoption case.

International adoption is when the child to be adopted was born in another country.

In all these three types, the court ends the parental rights of the child’s two birth parents, and the adoptive parent(s) become the children’s legal parents.

GUARDIANSHIP/CONSERVATORSHIP

Under a guardianship, the court appoints an individual, entity or institution to care for the person of a minor or an incapacitated adult. Under a conservatorship, the court appoints an individual, entity or institution to care for the estate of a minor or incapacitated person. A minor or incapacitated person for whom a guardian has been appointed is called a “ward”. The guardian or conservator is the person appointed by the court to care for the ward or their estate. Guardianships and conservatorships may be temporary, meaning for a limited period of time.


A guardianship may be created for the care of a ward, a conservatorship may be created for the estate of a ward, or for both. A conservator must preserve the ward’s estate for the ward’s benefit and anyone the ward is obligated to support. The guardian and/or conservator has a direct responsibility to the best interests of the ward.


A guardian and conservator is subject to the regulations and control of the court in performing his or her duties. Before a guardian or conservator can be appointed, the court will conduct an investigation to determine whether the appointment of the guardian or conservator is necessary and will be in the best interests of the ward. The investigator may interview the proposed ward, the proposed guardian or conservator, and review the background and history of the proposed guardian or conservator. A confidential report will be prepared for the court to consider in evaluating whether to appoint the proposed guardian or conservator to care for the ward.

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