[cupcake17]

Well with only 10 days till finalization I am getting a bit nervous ? What should we expect ? Will the judge as us questions ? How long will we be there ?

BTW We are finalizing in Franklin Co. and our daughter is bi-racial.

Thanks !!

[radkat]

Hi !
We live in Franklin county and we finalize our second adoption in about a little less than a month. I finalized my oldest daughter's adoption a few years ago. It was a very simple hearing. The only people in the courtroom was my daughter, myself, our lawyer, the adoption caseworker, the agency lawyer and the Judge. He asked me if I was prepared to be a parent and why I wanted to adopt. He asked my daughter how she felt about being adopted. Afterwards he allowed my daughter to sit in his chair and bang his gavel. We took pictures with him and that was it. It probably took maybe 10 minutes.

Kat

[marysblessings]

Congratulations on your upcoming finalization.
We have had two adoption finalization hearings held in Franklin County (in 2001 and 2004). The judge did ask us quite a few questions because both of our children were infants, so unable to answer questions themselves. Also, the judge reviewed some of the birth family history so that there would not be any "surprises" later on. The hearings did not take very long. Afterward, we were allowed to approach the bench for pictures. Our extended family was allowed to sit in during the hearings. However, they did have to leave for one questioning part.
Please feel free to ask any questions.
Blessings,
Mary