Can an adoption be open in Maryland?
Historically in Maryland adoptions have been closed. Unless the parties knew each other, the proceeding was closed and the parties were not identified to each other. Today, adoptions are often closed, but an adoption in Maryland may now be “open” with the parties identified and identities shared. It is a matter of personal preference between the parties. Many of the parents we work with still choose to remain anonymous. We have, however, been seeing an increasing trend of adoptive parents choosing to permit the birth parent some contact with the child. Some of these arrangements have been surprisingly successful with the birth parent visiting regularly and being treated as an aunt. However the choice of whether the adoption is open is one of the most personal choices for all involved in the adoption the adoptive parents and the birth parents and must be the choice of all.
