[Clardy5]

My wife and I are unable to have children of our own do to me having a bought with cancer as a child. However my sister is pregnant and is wanting to have us adopt this child. My sister already has 2 children and wants to have this child for the sole purpose of allowing us to adopt it. However she lives in the state of NY. Has anyone adopted a bio-family member in the state of Indiana and who cna recommend a good attorney to use. Also can anyone answer wether or not we will have to have a homestudy complete.
Please feel free to email me directly at matthewc@waterfield.com
any help will be greatly appreciated since we do not even know where to begin and my sister is already pregnant with child. :e

[Mom2J]

Hello Clardy 5,

Most relative placement adoptions can go quickly and smoothly with the agreement of all parties. The state statute search I did, did not state whether you would need a home study or not for this type of adoption. Your family law attorney will be your best bet for information regarding this and any other situation that may arise. I do have a family member that resides in Indiana and is a paralegal, so I'm sure I can get you the name of a great attorney. Good luck and hope it all goes smoothly for you. I'll PM you when I get a name.

Mom2J

[Clardy5]

thank you for responding and I will be eagerly awaiting the information for the family attorney

[Mom2J]

Clardy5, the servers have been fairly busy, while I was trying to PM you asking for the city you live in or the city you're going to handle the adoption in. My relative works in Indianapolis. PM me the location, don't put your city on the open forum. I can get her started on the search. I don't know why I didn't ask this before. LOL. (It's been a long day.)

Mom2J

[Clardy5]

have you gone through a situation similar to this? or done a interfamily adoption?

[Mom2J]

I'm doing it right now as we speak. I've also done much research in the field, so we knew what we were (hopefully) getting ourselves into. We have legal custody of my cousin and we've already filed all of the papers for the adoption.

Mom2J

[CAV]

I don't know the requirements for your states... but we had to do a homestudy when we adopted my sister-in-law's baby.
It was just a 2 hour visit and interview (asked us about our childhoods, our feelings about parenting etc..), and she did a quick walkthrough of our home (no looking in closets or under beds, lol.). We also had to be fingerprinted and have a criminal background check done. (to make sure we didn't have a history of violence)
That was all there was to the homestudy.

Besides for that we went to court twice. Once for custody durning the adoption, and once for finalization. Each time we weren't really required to say or do anything accept agree... just be present and sign papers.

[Clardy5]

did the birth parents have to be there at those hearing as well....or would they go before a judge in there own state. I just don't think they would make it out her for that since she lives 13hours away.

[Mom2J]

Clardy5,

When it comes to custody, you'll be in NY getting custody of the child, because that's where the child is a legal resident due to birth. Now depending on NY law, the parents can sign a surrender of parental rights to you for adoption. That all depends on the length of time for that to be done after the child's birth. (This is where your case and mine will differ. My case is of the parents losing custody of the children and yours is voluntarily placing the child.) Once the child is in your custody for 6-12 months depending on Indiana law, the adoption will proceed in Indiana, because the child will then be a resident of Indiana. (Most states require 6-months of living in their state to be considered a resident.) The attorneys will help you out with what will be required and how to proceed.

Also, depending on the states, ICPC can be different for close blood-relatives, so your attorney will also be able to help with that.

Just some non-legal information about how things "normally" go, but as you know with adoption cases in 2-different states, there's no such thing as "normal". LOL.

Mom2J

[Clardy5]

I spoke with an attorney yesterday, Kursh, and he said we would not need a NY attorney nor do we have to follow the ICPC since I am the blood uncle of the child and the parents a are giving the child to us. Would your frined knowif he is any good, or if anyone else knows of this adoption attorney, I would appreciate any feedback. I heard that this guy is responsible for having had a great deal of influence when it came to Indiana adoption Law. I believe he said the adoption would be final in 60 to 90 days after the birth and the final hearing would be in Indiana

[Mom2J]

I've heard the attorney is wonderful. You've got yourself a great attorney. (From what I was told.)

That's great news about the case being fairly simple. Generally, a relative adoption is much more simple than your standard adoption, but it can change the family dynamics. I hope it all works out well for you. Keep us posted on the progress.

Mom2J

[Chicken8182]

Hello Clardy- I too am from Indiana , I don't know what region you are from but I am from Northwest Lake co. area. I adopted my husband's sister's child. It was not voluntary it ended in termination of parental rights, However I do know that most likely you wont have to have a home study, usually you only have to do that if the state is involved. A good attorney to try is Martha L. Wischmeier(don't know if that is spelled correctly) she is with the firm Terrell and Thrall located In Valparaiso,In off of st rd. 130. Hope this is of help to you and good luck.