[tammiep1]

My husband and I have adopted one child that is getting ready to celebrate her 3rd birthday. The process for her adoption went rather smooth and we were delighted. In June we brought home our son. He was 2 months old and had been in the adoption agencies foster care since birth. We meet a couple of times with the birthmother and although she seemed anxious, she seemed to feel that this was the best choice for her child. At the end of September (the day of her termionation hearing), she contacted the adoption agency and stated she now knew whom the birthfather was. It was the father of her 3 y.o. daughter (whom she has been raising). After several tense weeks, the paternity test confirmed that he is the father. I have recieved sporadic and limited information about the birth father. It seems that he is young, single and has a very strained relationship with the birthmother. At the intial (and only) meeting with the adoption agency, it seems as though he was not sure about parenting but his mother stated she would like to parent. We were assured that she had no legal standing in the matter since her son is over 18.
As of last week, he has now expresed interest in parenting. As time has gone on we have been losing faith that the adoption agency is being proactive in this situation. They have told me several times that they are not aware of any other cases like ours and they don't really seem to have a game plan. I was wondering if anyone out there has any advice they can give us or any information on another case similar to this. We seem to be running out of time and fear that we will lose our child without all avenues being looked at to prevent this from happening. We would appreciate any help at all.

[MICouple]

I dont know what state you are in, but in my situation in Michigan, the birthparents can revoke placement at anytime until complete termination. As in my situation the birthmother did not want to raise the child but the birthfather did, BirthMother placed child with us and waited until the last court hearing to revoke placement with us to give child to birthfather. Hope this helps some. If you have any other questions feel free to pm me.

[LisaCA]

each state has its own rules. here's what I'd do: consult an attorney who has experience in contested adoptions asap. They'll be able to explain what you should be doing-rather than waiting on the adoption agency which has a different agenda. you can find attys at

http://www.adoptionattorneys.org


they're in all states. Look for an expert in Contested adoptions.

good luck,

Lisa

[meimaemomma]

I'm not sure I understand what your agency means by not aware of a case like yours - they should be familiar with legal risk placement and should certainly be trying to help you make sense of this.

I am so sorry for what your family is going through. I cannot imagine the kind of pain you must be feeling.

[tammiep1]

Thanks for the link. Unfortunately, the two in the Pgh., PA area I have either retained or meet with. The first (which we retained to finalize our adoption) is also the attorney for the agency. This typically is not an issue but it has become a problem. The second attorney stated she could help when the case became difficult but when I re-contacted after the paternity test, she stated she was unsure if she could help us. Needless to say we are on the search for a new attorney again. I will find somone whom specializes in contested adoptions.
Thanks