How much is it likely to cost for my husband to adopt my 3 children from a previous marriage?

Question

the kids are 9 and 7 year old twins and their biological father hasnt seen them since the twins were 6mths old and hes never paid a penny in maintenence. I recently found out he's moved back to the area and still hasnt made any attempt to see them. They call my new husband daddy and they have even tried telling their teachers that their surnames changed to ours lol

Ive looked into changing their names by deedpoll, but that doesnt give my husband parental responsibility

Answer 1

I would just leave the names the way they are and wouldn't mess with it, its not worth it.  It costs way too much and not to disappoint you in any way but........what if you get divorced later and believe me, theres no way of telling and I wouldn't take a marriage for granted!  Lets just say........nothing these days last forever!

Answer 2

My hubby adopted my our oldest son a year ago and like you his bio dad had no involvement and paid nothing, it was a very straight forward process, i got his name changed by deedpoll first as the bio dad wasnt on the birth cert if he was they would of had to of asked him, anyway i got in touch with our local adoption agency and told them what we wanted to do and they made an app to have a social worker come round to see us and it went from there it took just under a year to do and i think it cost £140 in court fees and thats it, you dont need a solicitor as thats more time and money yours sounds like it could be just as straight forward as ours and we never needed a solicitor and they didnt say we needed one either, they do have to ask the bio dads permission weather in contact or not but as he wasnt they said if he said no to adoption he wouldnt really stand a chance anyway as hes never been in my sons life and he would only be refusing adoption to be awkward!!

Go for it, you sound like your happy and in a good relationship, your kids sound like this is what they want to, it is so nice to feel like a real proper family, good luck and do it xx

Answer 3

it depends on the area... it is going to cost around $3,000 for my husband to adopt my son

Answer 4

It's all about attorney fees and court filings.  So, there's no way to say how much it would cost.  Depends on lots of factors.  1) If the b-father contests it, or agrees to it 2) the fees charged by whichever attorney you hire  3) court costs  

Obviously, if the b-father will agree to it then there will less expense all around because there will be less work for the attorney to do, and less time spent in court hearings, etc...  It does happen, though.  Just no way of predicting how hard or expensive it will be.

Answer 5

uhmmm......................................

Answer 6

If his name is on the certificate it is a very long and costly process.

I am in the same situation as you and now the kids have our surname (I changed mine) and when they have to do anything official they just put Smith (Known as: Jones).

When they are older they can change their names but regarding adoption is it really necessary, a secure family unit can be achieved without paperwork.

Make a will stating you want your new partner to have PR in case of your death, then if their father wants them he will have to go through a court case to see them, which as he hasn't made any effort now he probably won't want the hassle of the court case.

Good luck.

Answer 7

It all depends on where you live. I live in Pennsylvania and my husband adopted my 2 children and the cost was around $600 for the both of them. it was uncontested and my EX signed the papers without a problem.  

You will need lawyer to do this in order to make it legal. Your EX will be contacted to sign off rights and once the fee is paid and no one objects then it will be done, name change and all.

I wish you good luck and hope all works out for you..

Answer 8

I'm in the U.S. and to have my daughter's birthfathers rights terminated and my husband adopt her with no contest will be around $1500-$1900 total.

Answer 9

you need to see a solicitor. for your children to be legally adopted by your husband. don't worry about the ex he ain't got a leg to stand on. as he never had contact with them.once your children have there new dads name.  he wont need a parental  resbosability order. i hope this is some help to you both and good look.

Answer 10

You sure got him ball and chained. He must be insecure. It will cost a fortune if the authorities get wind of what you're doing

Answer 11

You need to speak to an attorney about this.  I'm pretty sure that your husband can't legally adopt them until their biological father relinquishes all of his rights.  If there's no father listed on their birth certificates though, then you shouldn't have much of a problem.  As for cost, it varies, so speaking to an attorney is your best bet.  Some attorneys offer free consultations.  Try to contact one of those.