[Katran]

Hello everyone! After three years of trying to conceive unsuccessfully, DH and I have decided to move on to adoption (which we had planned to do anyway after having one or two children biologically; I also have three daughters from before my marriage, ages 10, 15 and 16).

The first thing we are going to do is have him adopt my youngest daughter, as her biological father has never been in the picture and DH has been her dad for the past 5 1/2 years. We're just not sure where to start with all of this. Does anyone have any experience with step-parent adoption here in Arizona?

[BrandyHagz]

I do. My husband adopted my son two years ago.

Arizona requires a homestudy and background check on your husband to move forward.

The good news is - in Arizona, the OAG can do all of the 'adopting stuff' so you don't have to hire an attorney, unless you're going to need to fight for Termination of Parental rights.

Are you in Maricopa County?

[Katran]

Wow, you're fast!

Yes, we are in Maricopa county. I highly doubt there will be any fight to terminate parental rights. In fact, I don't even have a clue where her biological father is and DES has never been able to find him. An agent at DES told me I should contact the adoption department of the county attorney's office and that it would most likely be an "uncontested adoption".

What is the OAG? I don't know all the abbreviations yet.

Thanks!

[BrandyHagz]

Sorry, I mean the county attorney and yes, you should contact them - however, I don't think it will be an 'uncontested adoption' - they were very clear, when we contacted them, that in order to work witih them, we have to have the fathers willingness to terminate his rights and all of the paperwork to make it happen. Otherwise, we'd have to hire a private attorney.

I did end up hiring an attorney in the state where his father lived and had him sign the papers with the advice of counsel (at my expense) and when it was all said and done, I knew I had what I needed to move forward and I knew he had made an informed legal decision about signing.

Just give them a call and see what they say.

(OAG = Office of the Attorney General) but I mean the county attorney anyway

Good luck!

[BrandyHagz]

Of note: If you can't find him or don't know where he is, you'll need to take whatever steps are required in Arizona to terminate by publication - and the supporting documents of your efforts will be presented to the judge.

I am almost sure the county attorney will be able to help you - although the expense and steps will be a bit more, for publication

[Katran]

Well, we may be out of luck then because I don't see how we can afford to hire an attorney on top of all the other adoption costs. If DES hasn't been able to find the guy after all these years (they've been looking for him since I was pregnant, as I had to be on state aid at the time and several times since then), I don't know why we'd need to bother with an attorney. What can an attorney do at this point?

I also don't know why DES would tell me it would be uncontested. You'd think they'd know the laws.

Well, as far as the publication, I have several family members who work for the Arizona Republic, and they get a discount for ads, so I can probably go that route. A friend told me she did that and they only had to wait 30 days for her son's father to respond (and the guy never did). I don't know if that's still how it works, but it would sure be cheaper than hiring an attorney, lol.