3 Questions To Ask When Choosing An Attorney For Step-Moms Who Want To Adopt Their Step-Child
If you are tired of being a step-mom by title only and a mom for all of the day-to-day activities, and there is no other maternal figure present in your child's life, it is time to ask the right questions of an adoption attorney to see about becoming a legal mother to that child. Adoption, even with a child who lives in your home, is not always easy. Fortunately, an experienced adoption attorney can walk you through all of the important steps, and one day soon you could be the legal mother of the child you already see as your own.
#1-How Can The Lawyer Help You To Get The Consent Of The Biological Mom When She Hasn't Been Heard From In Years?
Although it is not always talked about, there are many children in the United States who are being raised exclusively by the father because the mother has not been heard from in years. If that is the situation in your home, you should ask the lawyer how you can go about getting her consent to adopt your step-child, if necessary. After her rights are dissolved, she will still have a certain amount of time, which varies from one state to the next, to change her mind or appeal. Your adoption cannot be completed during that time.
If there have already been legal steps taken to dissolve the birth mother's rights, you are lucky, since the adoption will be easier. Otherwise, some states allow her rights to be dissolved if it has been at least a year since she made contact with her child. It is important to note that your adoption may remove all of her rights to the child and her child support responsibilities. Therefore, she might be amenable to the adoption if she can be found, and if she cannot, your lawyer can discuss dissolving her parental rights.
#2-How Long Will The Adoption Take?
Some families have chosen to arrange the adoption so that it coincides with other important family events such as Christmas, birthdays, wedding anniversaries, etc. In that instance, you should let your attorney know your goal date for completion of the adoption and determine if that is a possibility.
There is not any absolute and pre-determined amount of time for an adoption, since the need to obtain consent from the birth mother can take longer than expected and background checks may lag. However, your attorney will be able to refer to the approximate amounts of time that similar adoptions have taken previously to give you an approximate expectation of the time frame for yours.
#3-What Will Be Involved With The Adoption?
Adopting a child typically requires several crucial steps, such as submitting to a background check and a home study. Since adoption is a state issue and therefore each state has the right to determine their own laws that pertain to it, some states have different requirements from others. There are a few federal guidelines that will apply, like laws about human trafficking, but adoption in any form is typically decided at the state level.
The waiting period for an adoption to be final can vary from one state to another, as can the amount of time that the birth mother has to change her mind about the adoption. In addition, the details associated with a home study are likely to change from one state to the next and in some states, judges are allowed to remove the requirement for a home-study entirely in certain situations.
In conclusion, families can be created in a wide variety of ways. If you love your step-child like you would your own and would like to provide him or her with the stability that comes from having a second legal mother, it will be helpful to ask the above questions of any adoption attorney with whom you may be working.
Contact lawyers in your area to learn more.