Family Member Adoption?

Question

My husband I are adopting a baby that my sister is pregnant with. I don't think we need an attorney but can't figure out the paperwork. Has anyone ever done an adoption themselves? And would you recommend an attorney?

Answer 1

I would highly recommend involving an attorney.  From the experience we had adopting, although it was not a family adoption, the paperwork became very complicated.  I would want to insure that everything is filled out correctly so that the state doesn't try to reverse the adoption later down the road.  We also worked through our Dept of Children and Youth and did not have a positive experience in NJ.  You can also talk to an adoption agency who might be able to assist you with the paperwork for a nominal fee.  If nothing else, a reputable agency, will at least give you pointers without any obligation from you.  

Good luck to you!

Answer 2

You need an attorney.  This is not a self-help project. They call it kinship adoption.

Answer 3

You really should use an attorney, even for inter-family adoptions. I would interview several Family Law specialists in your area (make sure they offer free consults) and it shouldn't cost too much as it's just paperwork and filing

Answer 4

I say get an attorney just to be on the safe side

Answer 5

I will recommned you to take help from usalegalcare.com. They have got good adoption attorneys. They are very honest and their service is too good. I am sure they will solve your problem

www.usalegalcare.com

All the best

Answer 6

go to court house get the forms u need cost around $6.00 fill out  takes about 90 days u may also need forms for her to sign parental rights over to and the adoption forms u will not need lawery just make sure u get everything done that needs to be done.  it may cost a cople hundred to get everything done by the court   [e-mail]

Answer 7

You still need a lawyer to do the "legal" stuff for you that you may not know about.  My ex husband agreed to my new husband to adopt my daughter...we still needed to get a lawyer.

Answer 8

You still need and attorney to file all of the paperwork, etc...

Answer 9

We are adopting my husbands neice, and the process was very much the same as adopting a non-relative. However this neice was removed from her parents. We are going through the Dept. of Childrens Services. We were advised to do our own paperwork because private attorneys make the process longer than neccesary (the longer it takes = more $ for their pockets), the pro-bono attorneys are also slow because they do the paperwork between their paying customers.

Go on-line to your local Dept. of Family and Children Service and look under their "relative adoptions" section. Here in Los Angeles there is alot of information and all the legal forms are downloadable.

Good luck and be patient.