[shascott]

My husand and I have been married for a little over six years and we do not have any children. I have a 19 year old cousin, who is 6 mos pregnant with her second child (our aunt and uncle has her first 20 mo-old). My cousin is due on 3-28-05 and is very sure, she wants to relinquish all rights to this unborn baby. She has asked us to legally adopt him. She says she wants no financial support over the next three months, she just wants to be rest assured that we will take her baby upon birth. She promised us she will not come back in a few years wanting him back, nor will she be wishy washy or mind changing.

We are MORE than willing to, but have the slightest clue as to where to begin. The says she knows who the baby's father is, but we doubt she -knows first of all. Secondly, doesn' t he have to relinquish his rights as well? Does he have to have a paternity test, or can she just go and pick up any BlowJoe off the street and say he's the "baby's daddy"? If who she thinks the baby's father is-really isn't, do we have to wait and go through a list of possible suspects before we can go on with the adoption? How long can this process take and where do we begin? Surely if paternity of the father has be established, we have to wait until after the baby's born, which contradicts her telling us we can take the baby from the hospital. I am flustered, please help me QUICK!!

We live in Tennesse and she lives in Mississippi (if this information is needed)