How old do you have to be to Adopt?

Question

My sister is 27 with 4 kids her husband hit my 3 year old niece and she is going to get back with him...My 9 year old niece she left with my grandmother when she got with her husband...I do not want my nieces and nephew in a place of danger and I want them where I will know they are safe..I am 18 years old and I have been around kids my whole life and I know that I will be a good mother...I will do everything they tell me to do to get them...She has threatened to kill and DFCS worker and to kill the main woman there...

Answer 1

With DFCS involved the best way to go about adopting them is taking the courses to become foster parents, but let them all know you are doing it for a kinship care/adopt situation.  I know in my state an 18 year old can adopt, as long as the children are a certain number of years behind you.  

Good luck!

Answer 2

I believe at 18 you can be granted guardianship.

Answer 3

i think by the law ... you should be in legal age and you have all the funds to support your nephew and your niece also you should have atleast a partner in life ... a boyfriend or a common law husband.

I know how you feel ryt now ... but better seek help with older one's and to those non - organization group for better decision in the end.

Answer 4

it depends on the particular state and situation, but in most states 19.

Answer 5

Age is not really the factor here.  The factor is that those children are in harms way and you NEED to do something immediatly!  You should contact the police and let them know about her threats and they will go with DFCS to remove the children then you can fill out the paperwork to have the children come live with you and then there will be a hearing.  Good Luck.  In the mean time you may want to take a parenting class and look into some counseling to help you and the hildren deal with these issues and the issues that will arise.  It will look good for you in court to go to these things.

Answer 6

The first course of action is to notify the authorities of her threats and of the danger the children are in.  But don't be shocked it they immediately put the kids in foster care and not with you, which I believe they would do.  

It will be a bit of a challenge for you to convince them that you are "old" enough...they will question your sense of responsibility and your experience.  I think the biggest thing they will look at won't be your age but will be whether or not you can provide a stable, safe, financially competent environment for them.  (The key word here is YOU.  At 18 can you show them that not only can you love the kids and keep them safe but that you are financially stable?)

I don't know your specific situation and I'm not trying to dissuade you...just trying to be realistic.  If you are physicially financially providing for yourself and can show them that you are responsible they might consider letting you have a go at it, but I honestly doubt they will immediately take your word for it and give you the 4 children.  That would overwhelm just about anyone.

Best of luck to you.

Answer 7

my mom told me when she adopted me, she needed to be at least 35 years old.  i don't know if it depends where you live and stuff like that, but i know they went through a whole long legal process, of people coming to the house to make sure everything was safe...and credit checks, and all kinds of things to make sure you are stable and safe.

Answer 8

I don't know about nationally, but in the state of Ohio you must be eighteen years old to adopt.  There are a lot of stipulations, but if you are related to the child or children then a lot of those will be waved.