[allyrhey]

HI everyone! I was wondering if anyone could help with some info on getting started. My husband would like to adopt my 8 year old. He has been raising her for 4 years. No contact ever from biological father. Not on birth certificate. We live in Tucson Arizona and I am having trouble finding info here. Everything seems to be for maricopa county not pima county where we are. I am lost and dont know where to start. any info would be great thank you!

[happilydad]

My advice is to call a family law attorney in your area. My wife and I tried several times to find the info we wanted online but searching through the utah statutes online was less than productive. We finally just ended up calling a lawyer and setting up an initial consultation. Those are usually free. Hope this helps.

[zxczxcasdasd]

It's possible to do on your own, but really difficult to figure out what comes next, forms, process. I would advise letting a family law attorney handle the case. It will be expensive, but worth it.

If bdad isn't on the birth certificate, does he know of the child? He will need to be found and notified of his right to appear and to contest the adoption if he wishes.

[kimmom]

In Illinois if there is no dad on the birth cert you can request a form for the acknowledgement of paternity. It is free and puts the father's name on the birth cert as well as allowing you to make a legal name change. This may be very bad advise bc I am not sure if it is legal if it is not her birth father that you are adding. It may be something you could ask a lawyer about, though.