With the number of people waiting to adopt children, the need for a comprehensive yet succinct explanation of adoption laws and practices is met by Adoption Laws in a Nutshell. The book is an excellent resource for the legal and social work professions, providing an analysis of the latest developments regarding agency responsibilities toward adoptive parents and children, consents necessary to complete an adoption, father"s rights, the new assisted reproductive technology and adoption including surrogacy, standards for placement, open adoption, access to adoption records, inheritance rights of all the parties and intercountry adoption.