Adoptions Legal Questions

Dear Anonymous:     Your son did the right thing registering with the Florida Putative Father registry.  Before any adoption goes through, the  adopting party/attorney must search the putative father registry and if a father is listed for the child, he must be notified of any legal actions regarding adoption.  Also, if you/he  should notify the birth mother that he objects to the adoption, and he can also file an action to establish paternity.  That way,  he would ultimately be adjudicated the legal father, and any adoption would be fraudulent.    He can still pursue this, with an attorney's help, even if he is in jail.   Best of luck, Cindy S. Vova Law Offices of Cindy S. Vova, P.A. Broward/Boca Raton 954-316-3496/561-962-2785  ... Read More

Thank you for your question. I understand how concerned you must feel in having raised your niece’s daughter with your spouse and currently finding yourself facing a divorce. The short answer is that it may possible for the adoption to take place, however, it is fact sensitive and requires further discussion and analysis. I encourage you to contact an attorney to schedule a consultation to ensure that you are protected. ... Read More

The birth parents do not have to consent to the adoption but they must be given notice of the action, unless they are deceased. The law states, “When petitioner seeks to adopt a person who is eighteen years of age or older, only the sworn, written consent of the person sought to be adopted shall be required and no order of reference or any home studies need be issued."... Read More

Do you want your rights to be terminated? There can be no adoption until your rights are terminated. Usually, you would not be ordereed to pay child support if your rights are terminated. You should read and respond to any court proceedings. Also, you could contest the termination and keep your parental rights. If you want the termination to go through, you should sign the required paperwork and find out if they are trying to get an order saying you still have to pay child support. You may be able to negotiate and request that they not make you pay child support in exchange for signing the affidavit to voluntarily terminate your parental rights.... Read More

You might want to see if the parents would agree to an open adoption, where you would adopt the children, but the parents could see them on occassion.  You could also file to terminate the parental rights of the parents in certain circumstances.  For example, if the parents do not contact the children for a six month period, you could possible terminate their rights on an involuntary basis.  The requirements to involuntarily terminate parental rights are contained in Pennsylvania Statute 23 Pa.C.S.A. 2511.... Read More

        The short answer is, unfortunately, no, unless you do, possibly, a second parent adoption.  However, if you get married, then your now husband could adopt the child provided that you either advise you do not know who the father of the child is,  or you take other actions to terminate the father's rights.      Best of luck,      Cindy S. Vova       Law Offices of Cindy S. Vova, P.A.       954-316-3496/561-962-2785 ... Read More

Thank you for your question. It would be helpful to have a little more about your situation, but based upon what you’ve shared here, your mom would need to file her own application, you cannot file on her behalf. However, anyone can file an adoption complaint in New Jersey.  I understand that you need answers and need to protect yourself. I strongly suggest that you schedule a consultation with a family law attorney who has experience in adoptions as soon as possible, so that you can understand the implications for you.... Read More

If the parents did not leave the child with you before the child was taken into CPS custody, you may not have a good chance of getting the child. CPS is going to look for relatives first. Then they would likely look at the foster care families in the area. You may ask CPS if you would have a chance if you went through their foster care training.... Read More

If you were married, you could terminate the rights of the biological father and do a stepfather adoption without question. However, I have not found any cases that address a boyfriend adoption. However, there is a 2007 opinion from the Attorney General of Tennessee that states:  "Likewise, the joint adoption by two adults who are not a couple and are not cohabitating in the same home is also not contemplated by Tennessee adoption statutes. As noted above, the purpose of the adoption statutes is to place children in a safe, stable and permanent home. Tenn. Code Ann. § 36-1-101. This objective is not likely to be served by allowing the adoption of a child by two adults who are not a couple and not cohabitating. If the court grants a joint petition to adopt by applicants who do not share the same home, the court's next task would presumably be to decide with whom the child would live. That is, it would have to make a custody determination separate from the decree of adoption itself. The adoption statutes, however, do not contemplate custody determinations. Rather, the adoption statutes presume the adoption by two persons will result in the child being placed in a unified and stable household."   The AG opinion uses the term "couple" and doesn't say "spouses" so being married doesn't appear to be required. If you can prove that you are a "couple"  of long standing time period, can establish that the child will live in "unified and stable household", and that it is in the best interest of the child for the adoption, the judge might well approve it.  ... Read More

When you gave up your parental rights, you gave up your right to have a relationship with the child. The court will not force the child to have a relationship with you. If you want to reach out to the child's mother and ask her if you can have a relationship, that is up to her. However, the court will not force her to do that.... Read More

Before you can adopt, the father must agree to terminate his parental rights or at least be given the opportunity to object. If you can not find him or if he does not agree, there are procedures in place that you give him the opportunity to come into court to object and if he does not do so, then the adoption can go through. Feel free to call me and I will be glad to discuss this matter with you.... Read More

What you wrote is very unclear- is the biological father in your daughter's life?  If so, forget about step parent adoption. If not, and if the biological father consents (or ignores the adoption paperwork after you serve him with it), you still have several more hurdles. First, you need to marry your boyfriend. Second, he needs to be out of jail. Third, you still need to wait a few more years after that to prove to the court that he is in a permanent, mutually emotionally and financially supportive relationship with BOTH you and your daughter. Step-parent adoptions are not just about filing paperwork and waiting for a judge to sign an order, even if the biological father is not in the picture. You have to prove to the court he is a significant and positive influence in your daughter's life, and that you are a family. With your boyfriend in jail and you two not even married, you are quite a few years away from that. And depending on how much longer he'll be in jail, whether he's coming back to/how fast he can find a job, why he's in jail in the first place and whether he's a first time or repeat offender, any of those factors might prevent a court from signing off on the adoption, as well. ... Read More

Thank you for your question.  I know how worried you must be about finalizing the adoption of your son.  The short answer is that you should immediately contact an experienced family law lawyer.  In New Jersey, a private adoption can be finalized as long as the proper paperwork is filed with the court and the proper procedures are followed.  Unlike Kentucky, New Jersey will recognize and finalize private adoptions as long as New Jersey adoption law is followed.  There are several requirements that have to be followed.  It is important to consult with an experienced adoption law attorney to ensure that all of the appropriate paperwork is filed on a timely basis and that all of the local surrogate’s office procedures are followed so that your adoption can be finalized quickly.   It is important to protect your interests and have  an experienced family law lawyer advocate for your interests and ensure that both you and your sons rights are protected.  I hope this information was helpful to you.... Read More

Thank you for your question.  I know how worried you must be about your appeal rights and your mother’s visitation rights.  The short answer is that your mother may possibly have visitation rights and you may have further appeal rights.  With respect to your mother’s visitation rights, in some limited instances, depending upon the circumstances, it might be possible for the court to entertain a “grandparent” visitation application post-adoption.  There are several factors the court will consider when deciding whether or not your mother is entitled to grandparent visitation.  Additionally, depending upon which level of the appeal process you are in, you may have additional appeal rights.  However, there are very strict deadlines for filing any additional appeals.  You should therefore immediately contact an experienced family law attorney to protect your interests and ensure that your rights are preserved.   I hope this information was helpful to you.... Read More

If you file for termination and adoption, all you have to do is show you served the prisoner. Each court is different, so once the suit is filed, work with the coordinator to make sure you provide the service of citation in the manner acceptable to the court. If the bio dad won't sign a voluntary relinquishment of his parental rights, you would have a hearing asking the judge to terminate the rights.... Read More

You did not say if the adoption took place in WI or NV. In whatever state that it took place, you might want to consult with an attorney in that state however my opinion is that your chances of getting the adoption reversed based on the factual situation that you described is zero.... Read More