• Learn the adoption laws in ArizonaChild image by Serenitie from Fotolia.com
  
  If you are seeking to adopt a child, you may already know how involved the laws relating to adoption are. These laws are intended to protect everyone involved in the process--birth parents, adoptive parents and of course the children themselves, who have the least say of all when an adoption is taking place. The adoption process is long and involved and often costly, but at the end, a child is given a new life, birth parents find relief from a situation they may have been unwilling or incapable of dealing with, and adoptive parents are finally able to have the child they dreamed of. Arizona's adoption laws help facilitate this process equitably for all involved parties.
  
  

Consent

• To adopt a child in Arizona, the issue of consent must be addressed first. No adoption proceedings can take place in Arizona without the consent of birth parents and guardians. Even if the birth parent is a minor, she can legally give consent for her child to be adopted. Parental permission is not required if the mother or father of the child are under the age of 18.
  
  

Older Children

• The child herself may be involved in the consent process in Arizona. If a child over the age of twelve is to be adopted, the child will testify in open court, and if he does not consent to adoption by the adoptive parents, the process will be stopped. This is an interesting way of giving rights to a child under the legal age of consent for such things as purchasing a vehicle or driving, but who still deserves some choice in their future life and who their adoptive parents will be.
  
  

Waiting Period

• Consent to adopt a child only be given seventy-two hours after the child is born in the state of Arizona. This is meant to prevent hasty decisions and to allow the mother and father to recover from the stressful birthing procedure before deciding what to do next--and whether they want to give their newborn up for adoption.