Full Video Transcript  An adoption is a legal process where the
adoptive parents are given permanent parental rights over a
child. At the same time, the child's natural parents' parental
rights are terminated. A parent may voluntarily give up their
rights by filing a relinquishment with the court, or the court
may terminate a parent's rights on its own initiative.
Involuntary termination of parental rights normally requires
child abuse, abandonment or some other illegal act. An adoption
is different from the appointment of a non-parental legal
guardian.A legal guardian is a person appointed by the court to
temporarily care for a child. It is a temporary order, because
the order is vacated on the child's eighteenth birthday. Your
parents are always your parents. The guardian is also under the
supervision of the court. A judge may overturn a guardian's
decision, and may also change a minor's guardian. In the eyes of
the law, an adoptive parent is the child's parent once an
adoption is finalized. The courts have