[WaltH]

Well my wife and I just found out that my 41 yr old brother and his 22yr old girlfriend are 7.5 months along and wanting to place this baby up for adoption, well we think we could give this baby a good home and they (the parents) really would like us to have the baby, I don't think there will be any problems from there side as neither of them want the new child, so any help/advise I could get would be great. Do I really need a lawyer? or can I handle the paperwork? we live in seperate states they live in CA. we live in ID. I guess I may be old fashion but I think family should be first choice, and stay together, loving this child would not be an issue as we wanted more kids anyway, how do I get this roling? Thanks Walt

[DianeS]

Yes, you need a lawyer who is accustomed to adoption law in your state, and with interstate adoption agreements. And they need a separate lawyer accustomed to adoption law in their state, and with interstate adoption agreements.

If either of you live in an agency-only state, you'll need an agency, too. (That part is a pain, but may be legally necessary.)

And you'll need a homestudy. Go ahead and pick the lawyer first, he can probably advise you on who to use for the homestudy. You don't want to do anything illegal by accident.

There will be times that your state law conflicts with their state law, or when one state is more strict about something than the other. In that case, you'll need to satisfy the requirements of BOTH states. Satisfy their state's so they'll release the baby, and satisfy yours so you can take the baby and finalize the adoption.

Although a family adoption is not legally tricky, you still have to jump through the same hoops as people with a non-family adoption. Prove you're eligible to adopt (via homestudy), have a lawyer cross all the ts and dot all the is, have a lawyer for them so he can show that you didn't do anything coersive, etc. A pain, but worth it in the end.

Congratulations!

Good luck!

[3girls1boy]

Walt, you need a lawyer or agency. I live in Idaho, I used Idaho Youth Ranch. Though I am sure any agency can give you good advice.
Lisa

[mom2boyz]

A homestudy is not always required..it depends on the state you live in. I'm in IL and did not have to have one to adopt my son from my sister.

[Mama2Javi]

my adoption was just finalized and i started it without a lawyer, but found that i was not equipped to handle all the paperwork, etc. my son was born in NC and we adopted him in NC, so that part was easy.

it was a little pricier than i expected, though. he is my biological nephew, but i had to go through the motions of any adoption. the homestudy could have been waived because he's been in my home for over three years, but NC adoptions have to go through DSS and they refused to waive it.

anyway, good luck!

[Kaylee]

I live in NC and my cousin wants me to adopt her unborn baby which is due in about two weeks. My lawyer drew up child custody papers for us and we both signed them. They specify me taking the baby home from the hospital and taking responsibility for the baby. He told me that nothing else could be done until the baby is actually born.....then he would file a petition with the clerks office to have the birth certificate changed and the adoption started. Will I be required to have a homestudy as well? And is there anything in that process that could keep me from getting the baby? I live alone in a three bedroom home and I work as a bar manager. I do well for myself. He says the child custody papers should be enough to get the baby home with me.
I need some advice on this....no one else seems to be able to tell me anything. Do I need to notify DSS now? Please...if you have any advice or info on this, I would appreciate it!!

Thanks,
Lisa

[3girls1boy]

Call an agency or adoption attorney and ask them about your state laws. We are adopting my nephew and have actually had guardianship of him for nearly a year and we still have to have a homestudy. In our state everyone but a step parent requires a homestudy. Also I didn't think someone could actually relinquish custody of a child before it was born, but your state laws may be different. I would contact an adoption professional-agency or attorney and they will answer all your questions.

[charliesmom]

i also adopted a bio-nephew. by law, i had to have an attorney but my nephew did not. if your state does not require an attorney, and if you are even moderately intelligent, you should be able to do the paperwork yourself.