This guide covers adoption from the first client meeting to the sealed file. It begins with the structure of the proceeding — the severance and the creation — and then works through each element in the order it must be established. Consent chapters cover who must consent, when a consent may be taken, how it must be executed, and the revocation rules that vary more than any other feature of state adoption law. Termination chapters cover statutory grounds, the clear and convincing standard, and the procedural protections the Constitution requires. Separate chapters address the putative father registry, the Indian Child Welfare Act, and the Interstate Compact on the Placement of Children, each of which can invalidate an otherwise complete adoption. The guide then covers home study standards, post-placement supervision, the finalization hearing, and the amended birth certificate. Closing chapters address subsidies and the federal tax credit, open adoption agreements, intercountry adoption under the Hague Convention, the specialized routes, and what to do when an adoption is attacked after entry.