[mccordsk]

I am a Ohio National Guard Soldier, I have been married to my wife for over five years now and raising my stepson for five years.

I want to adopt him and have no clue how to begain the process.

His bio-father is a force to recon with, he has been out of the picture for almost 2 years now with the occational clildsupport payment. He is well behind in that as well,

I just want to be able to provide for my son, and it is a legal hicup with insurance and stuff that Im the STEP dad.

Can anyone help?, is there anything that the Military might be able to help with?

[Cjmeck]

My husband is USAF (and we're both from Ohio) so I thought I'd chime in here. To my understanding, the biofather would have to terminate his rights voluntarily. Or, there is a period of time where if he doesn't support the child, the courts will terminate his rights. You'd have to check in with adoption law in Ohio to be sure what the time frame is. But if he's still paying support (no matter how infrequent) it'll be very difficult. My sister has remarried and her son's biofather is a total deadbeat. Her new husband wants to adopt him too, but since the biodad sends money once a year, they can't do anything. They're in Ohio too. It really sucks. Oh, and I believe your stepson is covered under Tricare; you'll just need to enroll him in Deers. But that's about all the military will do for you. JAG won't get involved in civil matters at all. Best wishes.

[Drywall]

mccordisk....this is not hard to do...but there are some legal land mines. I would talk to an attorney to see how to go about it and what the law requires before you take this on...it will save you a lot of headaches in the long run...probably the biggest hurdle will be the bio-dads TPR...U have a lot going for you already with the child support non payments.

I wish you the best.

[mccordsk]

thanks for the info,

Is there any specail attorney I should seek out, Im currently deployed to Iraq right now, but my wife can get the ball rolling back home...

And yea, my stepson is in DEERs and enrolled in Tircare, but that is only for Active Duty personel or Reserve/National Soldier that are on Active orders, so as soon as I get back from Iraq he is no longer covered by insuance just because he is my "stepson"

And what I ment by if the military could do anything as in like Commander's Letters, Evaluation reports, anything like that might help my case?

[Drywall]

mccordsk...a suggestion for a couple of things for your evaluation.

Even tho you are on foreign duty there are military attorneys somewhere there and hopefully you should be able to chat with them in regards to the basics of your situation. There are always court martials and requirements for attorneys.

They probably won't be able to do much as direct intervention, but they may be able to bring you up to date on a few legal ground rules...especially in terms of what happens in regards to the Ins deal when U leave the service. It is also possible they may have gone to law school with someone practicing in your town.

Sometimes referrals are best. If your wife knows anyone from a support group or who has adopted a child, that may be a source for the name of an attorney. If anyone in your family has used an attorney they like, that may also be a source for a name.

The TPR from the birth father will require attorney help. If your wife can get an attorney, it may be possible for him to begin the investigation and gather evidence into the b-dads conduct re-child support etc. and start the ball rolling toward a TPR.

Once all the requirements of the court have been met, the adoption itself is not a problem.

I wish you the best.