[Alesanto]

Well being the crazed lunatic that I am, I managed to find the phone number of our attorney in Guatemala. Well I am really tempted to contact him to see if I can speak to our fostermom and find out how everything is going. The language is no problem we are bilingual (DH was born in Mexico City) Has anyone ever contacted their attorney without telling their agencies? Is this a no-no? I figured since he is being employed by us in this adoption there is nothing so wrong about it. Please let me know what you think...Thanks

[delaware1]

I've never tried this, but I'm sure other have, hopefully someone will respond. While you're waiting for input, you might want to check your agency contract and see if there's anything in there that "forbids" this kind of contact. Some agencies might have that kind of wording, but other might not.
good luck, hope you get your answers one way or another-
Kathleen

[kahart]

Most contracts have a section about contacting the attorney and most of them make it a no-no.

However, I did contact mine also, I don't think that it really helped, but it did give me something to do to occupy my time and help feel like I was getting information.

Our contract also said that we could not talk directly to the foster mother, however we did that on a weekly basis and that was the greatest thing for us, we were able to speak to our daughter on the phone and hear how her progress was going. Our fm knew nothing really about our case, but it was great to hear stories and get info on our daughter.

All of that said, I can't tell you what to do, but just be careful, if you call the attorney expect him to call the agency and tell them, it usually happens.

[4kids4meTN]

Yes, I contacted our attorney last year during the adoption of our son. Luckily he spoke English. My agency contract stated that we were to have no contact with anyone in Guatemala about our case, but since they weren't giving me pictures or updates....I felt like they weren't holding up their end of the contract either. Our attorney was super nice, and was more than happy to let us know exactly what was happening. He said...just don't tell your agency you called me, and I will keep you informed the rest of the time. I actually found out I was out of PGN a week before my agency told me!

Thanks goodness this time we have a wonderful agency, that keeps us informed of everything...plus I have a wonderful attorney!

Good luck to you on whatever you decide to do!

Renee

[oh well]

I'd say after 2 FULL months, then begin to check, and yes, in my opinion, call your lawyer, (we did every month)... oh well.

[Dolphins1]

I was in constant contact with my attorney in Guatemala but it was only after I met with her in Guatemala during our visit and with her permission.

[KevinK]

If you have an unresponsive agency, then scr*w them and do whatever you want, regardless of what the contract says. If an agency isn't living by the terms of the contract, why should you?

Based on your timeline, I don't see the trouble. Especially since you just went into PGN.

Have you asked your agency about direct contact with the Foster Family?

My recommendation is that families should stipulate that they want direct contact BEFORE signing a contract and accepting a referal. This should be one of the criteria in choosing an agency. we didn't have the foresight to do this and got lucky, But for adoption #2 it would be a deal maker or breaker!

Kevin

[Mamarama]

I agree with Kevin.

But maybe you should send your agency an email telling them that it's been ___ since you've had an update and you need one within 48 hours (that's reasonable). Ask them if they'd prefer to get the information themselves or have you obtain it directly from the attorney?

That way, if they don't respond or don't get your information for you, no one could blame you for contacting the attorney (it also creates a paper trail).

Even though it usually goes against my first impulse, I've learned that it's often better all the way around to give people a chance to save face on matters like this.

Good luck