What are the differences between adoption and guardianship?

Adoption and guardianship are two legal processes in Delaware with different purposes, rights, and responsibilities. Adoption is a permanent legal process that transfers all parental rights and responsibilities from a child’s birth parents to legally adoptive parents. Once adoption is finalized, the child is considered to be a “legal stranger” to the biological parents and they have no parental rights or responsibilities. The adoptive parents gain all rights and responsibilities for the child, just like any other natural-born parent would have. On the other hand, guardianship is a legal process that does not transfer parental rights and responsibilities. Instead it appoints a third party, known as the guardian, to exercise limited or full authority over the child’s legal and/or physical care. The guardian is responsible for making decisions about the child’s education, medical care, and other important matters. The parents’ rights and activities with the child are not terminated and they retain parental rights in most cases. In summary, adoption and guardianship are two legal processes in Delaware with different purposes. Adoption is a permanent process that transfers all parental rights and responsibilities from the child’s birth parents to the adoptive parents, while guardianship is a limited process that appoints a third party to care for the child and does not terminate the rights of the birth parents.

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What are the differences between adoption and guardianship?

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