Simple English definitions for legal terms
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Closed adoption is when a child is adopted by new parents and the birth parents do not have any contact with the child or the adoptive parents. This means that the child does not know who their birth parents are and the birth parents do not know where the child is or how they are doing. Adoption is when a child becomes part of a new family and has new parents who take care of them and love them like their own child. It is a special legal process that makes the new parents the child's legal parents.
Definition: Closed adoption is a type of adoption where the birth parents and adoptive parents do not have any contact or exchange of information. The records of the adoption are sealed and kept confidential.
For example, if a couple decides to give their child up for adoption, they may choose a closed adoption. This means that they will not have any contact with the adoptive parents or the child after the adoption is finalized. The adoptive parents will have all the rights and responsibilities of being the child's legal parents.
Closed adoption was a common practice in the past, but today, many adoptions are open or semi-open, where there is some level of communication between the birth parents and adoptive parents.