fathers rights

[tae35]

My neice is PG and wants my husband and I to adopt the baby, the baby dad is in jail atm but gets out 2/27/09 he is being spiteful about giving up his rights so we can adopt the baby, do you know if we can put a ad in the paper to get the rights taken? if she knows fathers address? and whereabouts?? he is a convicted sex offender but it was stat. rape w/ a 16yrs. so not rly the same as a child .. not in my mind tho..fry the a$$hole... any ways the court wont take rights due to that coz he can be around kids in 7 yrs.. idk what to do.. any one who has ANY advice or in put is very welcome.. we just want to adopt the child w/o any hardship or long drawn out process.. i thought intra-family adoption was easy.. so far its not.. TIA Tracy

[BC-lisa in venice]

Are the birth parents in NV? I believe there is a registry there if they are unmarried. He can't assert rights if he doesn't register with the Putative father's registry. Many men balk at an adoption plan who really have no interest in parenting as a way the have control over the birth mother. I would see if he registers before I worried about it. In the mean time have you retained an Attorney? You can find one at the American Academy of Adoption Attorneys who is experienced and who can advice you in this situation.

[romake]

My son is adopted from NV and we are in the process of a second adoption (both independant adoption) from NV now. All I know is that Nevada law requires an adoption agency to be involved for the birthparent. We have both an agency and a lawyer. It is cheaper that way, to have the agency do everything it would be $10,000 but to have a lawyer invoved it will cost us 3,500 for the agency and 3,000 for the lawyer.) I would call an agency and ask about the birth father rights. I found that most agencies will answer questions or will direct you to those who know the answer.

[bigdipper]

I don't know the laws in NV, but like Romake said, I would call the agency. Best of luck and hopefully that baby will come home with you.

[tae35]

so in our situation we STILL need a agency and attorney?? its my niece and unfortunately in our family other family members raiser others kids ALL the time.. just in this adoption the baby would be considered ours not the b-mom too much detail involved to type atm but since shes family and would NEVER want the baby back i rely need a agency, homestudy and attorney? we were hoping to only have to pay for the birth certificate name change..kinda like my aunt did when she adopted her sons child... yes the grandma is "mom" .. long story like i said not un common in my family.. ok well TY vm for the responses so far.. if we have to we will call a lawyer and get info.. they seem to charge for info tho.. so we will see.. again TY VM... Tracy

[tae35]

i forgot to mention she and the pos father live in Cali. as does my aunt who adopted her sons child.. so maybe the laws are different IDK.. was just hoping and praying this would be as easy as she made it sound.. she give birth we drive the 4 hrs and pick up the baby.. ..

[BC-lisa in venice]

AH! Big difference in CA. IN CA there are two standards for paternity, there are Presumed Birth Fathers, those are men who are married to, living with or somehow providing material support thru the pg. Those men have the exact same rights as birth mothers and their rights can not be terminated if they choose to parent, heck even if they choose not to parent placement can not happen without their signature (well it can but it involves abandonment and can take months/years to clear up).

The other kind of Birth Father is an Alleged Birth Father. It sound like this guy might be in this category. Even if he acknowledges paternity and refuses to sign he has 30 to prove his ability to parent. If the Birth Mother is pushing for the placement and you are homestudy approved it is his case to prove and that very rarely happens (usually only in the cases where men really intend to parent and have a parenting plan, safe housing, approved daycare, employment etc). It is a more complicated adoption process. Instead of terminating the Birth Mother's parental rights you wait until the court terminates the birth fathers THEN you have the Birth Mom sign the papers.

Also if they are in CA if you are determined not to use an agency (which in a case like this probably won't cost you more then an Attorney if you do it on a fee for service basis) you still have to provide so many hours of adoption education AND legal representation for the Birth Family. That is part of the agency deal. If you go straight independent you have to hire a special SW called an ASP (Adoption Service Provider).

YOu will have to have a Homestudy in your state, you will have to have either an agency or Attorney there process you paperwork AND you will have to have either an Attorney or agency here. Crossing state lines can double your costs but often agencies will work together and charge fees for just the part that they do. We had this with our first adoption where we moved from RI to CA.

The other option is to do the entire adoption in CA. Meaning you will still have to hire an agency in NV and do the rest here in CA. It means that all of the laws pertaining to CA adoptions apply AND you will have to return here to finalize. Not sure it saves that much. If you cross state lines you have to get thru ICPC (Interstate Compact for the Placement of Children) in BOTH states so you need representation in both places. It just removes one layer of bureaucracy if you finalize in CA but it means you legal fees here in CA will be higher.

[Gigih]

You should definately check with an atty who is experienced with the laws in CA. I am not aware of any state that just allows adoption without at least a homestudy. Maybe adoption within the family is different. Nevertheless, you should contact an atty to find out what you need to do and what your options are regarding the birthfather. The last thing you want is for the bfather to come around after he gets out of jail and start trouble.

[tae35]

ok TY all vm for the great info.. i called a lawyer today and we have a apt. for a consult nxt week.. $40. compaired to the others that are $150. .. it sounds like if we want everything legal we will have to have a homestudy and all.. but it is a lil cheaper.. my neice mad eit sound like she goes in labor delivers baby we drive and pick up baby and return home.. we CAN do it this way but we run the risk of B-father starting trouble.. we dont want that.. so we will see what happens nxt week best of luck to all.. ty vm for the help and answers!!!!!!

[HopesPromise]

I am glad that Lisa chimed in with her expertise. I hope you get it all worked out and definitley make sure all your i's are dotted and t's are crossed. Best of luck.