I Would Like to Adopt My Stepson?
Question by thomas t: I would like to adopt my stepson?
I would like to adopt my 4 year old stepson. His dad and I have been married for 2 years now and the birth mother gave full custody to my husband at birth. I have raised my stepson since he was 6 months old. What is the process and the cost. I live in Illinois
Best answer:
Answer by 7rin
I suggest you read the following before making any further decisions.
Getting a UK adoption reversed? @
** http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20091123051321AAP34Ef
Can an adoption be undone? @
** http://uk.answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20100216212426AAr5EOp
How can i set aside my stepparent adoption ? @
** http://uk.answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20101221204805AAt6JL7
Can an adoption be reversed? @
** http://uk.answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20110116094647AAx9QY4
Take into account that the US Passport agency requires a birth certificate filed within one year of birth. You may be causing unnecessary headaches for the intended adoptee, and they may be denied a passport and/or driving licence (it’s happened to too many already!) – the rules differ state to state.
Adopting the child won’t change who their biological parent *actually* is. They got half of their genetics from their biological parent, and no piece of paper in the multiverse is strong enough to change that fact, so why bother paying to be able to lie and say that you partner created the kid, when you didn’t?
Sounds to me like you already fill the parental role, so I don’t understand why you feel you need to create the legalised lie about the biological side – especially when there are usually several other forms of official guardianship/parental responsibility available?
Finally, you may want to make sure you’re not in a ‘sealed record’ state first:
Adoption Laws & Sealed Records @
** http://www.ehow.com/about_4777255_adoption-laws-sealed-records.html
Adoption Records by State @
** http://www.abcadoptions.com/adoptionrecords.htm
Sealed records prevent even those who’ve had step-parents adopt them from accessing their own history.
Answer by Wild Ivy
I have included the link for the Illinois State Bar Association, which will also be a good resource for you to find a family law attorney with experience in stepparent adoptions. The fact that you have established a parental relationship for a significant time period is helpful. You didn’t indicate whether or not the biological mother is willing to consent – if so, the process will proceed much more smoothly and quickly. If not, you will have to allege that she is unfit and has abandoned the child. Court do not easily terminate parental rights unless they determine it is in a child’s best interest, so be prepared to make a case if you have to challenge the bio mom. Does she have a history of drug abuse or incarceration? In the neighboring state of Indiana, case law has supported terminations in those situations showing that a parent was incapable of parenting and that adoption was in the child’s best interest (must be habitual and not an isolated situation – and must show that mother has repeatedly failed to rehabilitate). An attorney will help you assess your specific circumstances. Below is the general information on their website:
“A stepparent adoption is when the spouse of a child’s custodial parent adopts that child.
In Illinois, a stepparent adoption can be a relatively easy process if the mother or father of the child consent to the adoption. An adoption can proceed without consent if there are statutory grounds for unfitness of the parent. Some of these statutory grounds are abandonment, failure to maintain a reasonable degree of interest or responsibility as to the child’s welfare, desertion of the child for more than three months preceding the beginning of the adoption proceeding, substantial neglect and physical abuse.
Additional grounds are depravity, failure to show concern for a newborn child during the first 30 days after its birth, failure to make a good faith effort to pay a reasonable amount of the expenses related to the birth of the child and failure to provide a reasonable amount of financial support for the child. Non-payment of child support may be the basis for adoption.
In a stepparent adoption, the biological father and mother need not have been married. However the father of a non-marital child, to preserve his rights, must within 30 days after the birth of the child, register the child with the Putative Father Registry. If he does not register, he may not have standing to object to the adoption.
A parent who consents to adoption does not have legally enforceable visitation rights. In that situation, all parental rights are fully terminated. The parties, however, can work out an informal agreement for contact or visitation, but these arrangements are not legally enforceable.
In most stepparent adoptions, no home study investigation is required.
The process can be completed as quickly as 30 days from the time the proceedings began; however, it usually takes at least seven or eight weeks. The timing depends on obtaining consent from the birth father.
If the identity or whereabouts of the parent is unknown, a notice may be served against the parent in the newspaper in the county where the adoption is taking place. A copy of the notice is also mailed to the parent at his last known address. A notice may be published to an “unknown parent.”
In adoption proceedings, a lawyer usually charges on an hourly basis for a set fee. If the amount of time it takes to complete the adoption can be accurately projected, the lawyer may charge a set fee.
Note: This information was prepared as a public service by the Illinois State Bar Association and is a joint project with the Illinois Press Association. Its purpose is to inform citizens of their legal rights and obligations.
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