Julia Roberts Reportedly Adopting Baby from India
Eat, Pray, Love, Adopt. It seems like actress Julia Roberts enjoyed shooting her hit film in India so much that she is looking to adopt a baby from the country. Already practicing the primary religion of the country, Hindu, Julia Roberts adopting from India will make it four for the actress.
The 42 year-old actress and her husband of eight years, Danny Moder, have three children together -- twins, Finn and Hazel, and son, Henry. The Julia Roberts adoption is reportedly already in place according to NDTV, although very few details are known at this time. A close friend of the couple is quoted in NDTV:
"Julia has wanted more children for years. But her past pregnancies were fraught with complications and she was forced into extended hospital stay right before she had her twins. After all she has been through, she realizes that adoption is perhaps the best way forward. Julia and Danny love the idea of having another baby in the house. And it feels so right that the next member of the family should come from a different culture."
Whatever the inspiration behind an adoption, the process can be slow and paperwork-intensive. Angelina Jolie, Madonna, and Katherine Heigl are all celebrities that have adopted children from other countries. The international celebrity adoption trend begs the question, how easy is it to adopt a child from another country?
As is the answer to every legal question, it depends. The rules and regulations governing international adoption are completely different than those in place for a domestic adoption, and international adoption laws can often be unpredictable. For parents like Julia Roberts, she must not only work within the legal parameters of the country she is adopting from, but must also fulfill the citizenship requirements for the United States. Children from international adoptions are not automatically citizens, and the U.S. also requires a showing of a permanent absence of the child's birth parents or an inability to care for their child before approving an application.
Related Resources:
- Julia Roberts Seeks Adopting Child from India (Clevland Leader)
- Adoption (FindLaw)
- 'Mercy' for Madonna: Malawi Supreme Court Allows Adoption (FindLaw's Law and Daily Life)
- The Adoption Option: Types of Adoption (FindLaw's Law and Daily Life)
- Adoption Information Center (provided by Barbara Lynch Schnack Law Office PC)
- Family Law Information Center (provided by Pritt & Pritt, PLLC)