More details to this question:
My son has not seen his real dad for 6 years and my current husband has been his dad for the past 5 years. They have a wonderful relationship. My ex has been paying child support because it was garnished from his check. He has made no attempt to contact his son or anything for 6 years. I provide insurance even though the court said he had to. My son is happy and well adjusted and I think that if the support does not get lowered than he will try to see him to make that happen and I feel that would very bad for my son. His real dad was very abusive to both of us. He beat me almost every day or put me down and he would say things like you are not my son you are too white to our four year old son, who is now 11. My husband would like to adopt him and was wondering what the cost would be if my ex agrees with out a fight?
13 ANSWERS
Family Law Attorney serving Pasadena, CA
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Law Offices of Paul P. Cheng
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If your ex is agreeable.
Answered on Jun 11th, 2013 at 2:06 AM
Gary Moore
Yes. I have done it for clients a number of times. Call me, if you like. Gary Moore 201 342 7933
Answered on Oct 28th, 2011 at 1:21 PM
The cost would depend a great deal on whether your ex-husband fought you or not. It is a two step process. First we terminate his parental rights then we do the adoption.
Answered on Oct 17th, 2011 at 11:45 PM
You can file a termination of parental rights action, along with the petition for adoption. It can be a complicated process, so I recommend working with an attorney. Your ex should go along with it once he knows child support will end completely as a result of this process.
Answered on Oct 14th, 2011 at 12:33 PM
Steven D. Dunnings
You can do a step-parent adoption. If uncontested, I would charge $4000 which would include the court costs. If contested it would cost more but that cost depends on how contentious the father is going to be.
Answered on Oct 13th, 2011 at 2:16 PM
Mediation Attorney serving Bloomfield, NJ
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Cassandra T. Savoy, PC
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Visitation is not a requirement of parents. You would need to have your child's father agree to terminate his parental rights, and you would have to get the court to agree to that.
Answered on Oct 13th, 2011 at 1:26 PM
Glen Edward Ashman
If your ex agrees, it will significantly hold down the costs. As costs vary by county and details, I'd have to know more to give you a quote.
Answered on Oct 13th, 2011 at 12:42 AM
Criminal Defense Attorney serving Pittsburgh, PA
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Law Office of Jeffrey L. Pollock
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If you hire a lawyer to file a "Step-parent Adoption" with voluntary Termination of Parental Rights (TPR), it should cost between $1500-$3000 depending upon the exact filing fees of your county.
Answered on Oct 13th, 2011 at 12:19 AM
Probate Law Attorney serving Colorado Springs, CO
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John E. Kirchner
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Yes, in Colorado it is called a step-parent adoption. It is a fairly simple process if the father consents. If father is unwilling to consent, your husband would have to convince the court that the father has abandoned the child even though he is paying child support. A very rough estimate of the cost in Colorado would be something between $1500 and $2500 if it is not contested by the father.
Answered on Oct 12th, 2011 at 5:38 PM
If the biological father is willing to consent to the adoption, it can be a very straightforward process; however, if he will not consent, then it may be more difficult to terminate his parental rights over his objection. I recommend you consult with an adoption attorney to discuss the process in more detail, as well as the cost.
Answered on Oct 12th, 2011 at 5:34 PM
What you are talking about is properly called a "step-parent adoption." How easy or hard it will be will depend on how much of a fuss Is raised by the biological father of the child. He could make the process relatively easy or he could make it impossible. In terms of the cost of doing such an adoption, that is going to vary depending on which county you are in and how much trouble the bio-dad decides to cause. I believe the current filing fee for an adoption is $250.00. In addition to that, there has to be a home study. The fee for the home study is going to be set by the person doing the home study. Finally, there is the cost of the attorney if you decide to hire one. That cost varies from attorney to attorney, so there is no way to predict what that would be. If it went smoothly, my guess would be that the attorney would probably want a fee of around $2,500. That is only my guess, and may be completely off base.
Answered on Oct 12th, 2011 at 3:48 PM
Family Law Attorney serving Petaluma, CA
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Law Office of Erin Farley
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To obtain an idea of cost, your best bet is to contact local attorneys to determine a customary local hourly rate. Family law fees are difficult to estimate - the cost will be very different if father contests an action than if he does not contest.
Answered on Oct 12th, 2011 at 3:48 PM
General Civil Trial Practice Attorney serving Beaverton, OR
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Vincent J. Bernabei, LLC
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If the biological father consents, the cost will be about $2,500. The bio. Father may be willing to pay some or all of that, since he will no longer owe child support once the adoption is finished, in about five months.
Answered on Oct 12th, 2011 at 3:46 PM