[jbee70]

Hello,
I have recently been presented with the possiblility of adopting a 6 month old baby girl.
It is by word of mouth- interestingly enough, a friend was contacted by an old friend who lives out of state. Apparently, she is on welfare, and has 5 children that she no longer wants. Sad.
I don't know alot of details as yet. However, my friend said that other friends have agreed to take the children (they are being seperated and sent to 3 different homes).. but the baby needs a new home..
I have no idea if this mother is signing away her parental rights (I would assume), plus she is married so her husband would have to sign as well.
Assuming that they both would sign, how would I go about adopting this child??
I have a free legal service through my job, so I plan on talking to someone. But until then, I thought I'd post here.
If the woman is willingly signing away her rights to avoid sending the kids to foster homes, and she willingly gives the baby to me, would I still need a home study in my state?? Seems like these kinds of situations should be made easy and affordable for people, so the child can get into their new home as soon as possible.
Otherwise, I wonder if I should simply have her give me the baby and do everything after the fact???
This is an amazing possibility, and I realize that I must protect myself and the child. But if I can do this, I want few delays!
Thanks for reading!
J

[Linny]

You'd think it SHOULD be easy; but alas, it's not always that way. And, this kind of stuff CAN vary state to state.
I'm sure your legal office will be able to give you a lot of good advice. If not, then look up an adoption attorney; and I would suggest one that's Quad A (American Academy of Adoption Attorneys)

American Academy of Adoption Attorneys - Home

Click on your state and email or phone one.

I'm sure this attorney will be able to give you most (if not all) of the advice you'll need.
And, you're smart to realize that while you may have a birthmother who wants you to raise the child; you'd be very smart to also have all legal situations taken care of by an attorney.
IMO, I would not wait until you had the baby in your arms. If this continues to seem like a real situation; I'd be certain to have things in place before the baby would come into my home.
Good luck; and I hope this works out well for everyone.

Sincerely,

Linny