Child adoption

[cdawley4]

Hi,

I live in Georgia and am interested in adopting my 4 year old step-daughter. My wife and I got married in 2002 and I am 27 years old. When my wife had the child, she didn't list the father on the birth certificate, however, when my wife named the child, she gave it a unisex name because she thought it would be a pretty girls name. I want to know if during the adoption, I can have her first name changed as well. I was wondering if I could get a ball-park figure of how much it would cost to adopt her and have her name changed at the same time?

Thanks,

Chris

[I AM ALWAYS LIABLE]

Originally Posted by cdawley4

Hi,

I live in Georgia and am interested in adopting my 4 year old step-daughter. My wife and I got married in 2002 and I am 27 years old. When my wife had the child, she didn't list the father on the birth certificate, however, when my wife named the child, she gave it a unisex name because she thought it would be a pretty girls name. I want to know if during the adoption, I can have her first name changed as well. I was wondering if I could get a ball-park figure of how much it would cost to adopt her and have her name changed at the same time?

Thanks,

Chris

My response:

Why, in God's name, would you actually CHOOSE to be legally liable for someone else's child? Did you know that once you adopt, and in the event of divorce, you'd be on the hook for child support?

Don't bother. You don't need to adopt.

IAAL

[stealth2]

It boggles me that anyone would think that changing a 4yo's FIRST name is a brilliant move.

[nextwife]

Actually. I know many kids adopted at older-than-baby age whose FIRST names were changed. My kiddo was two when we changed her first name (of course, her orphanage name sounded like a bathroom word in English) and my hubby had his FIRST and last name changed at 13 when his stepdad adopted him.

[stealth2]

Originally Posted by nextwife

Actually. I know many kids adopted at older-than-baby age whose FIRST names were changed. My kiddo was two when we changed her first name (of course, her orphanage name sounded like a bathroom word in English) and my hubby had his FIRST and last name changed at 13 when his stepdad adopted him.

I can understand it when a child is brought from a different country and his/her name doesn't anglicize well. However, in this situation (and granted, OP didn't provide a great deal of info), OP is married to the child's Mom and the child bears the name that MOM apparently chose for her. The name that the child has lived with - apparently with a loving mother - for four years of her life. OP never says MOM has a problem with the name. So yeah, I think in this case, it's a little wierd.

[VeronicaGia]

Originally Posted by cdawley4

Hi,

I live in Georgia and am interested in adopting my 4 year old step-daughter. My wife and I got married in 2002 and I am 27 years old. When my wife had the child, she didn't list the father on the birth certificate, however, when my wife named the child, she gave it a unisex name because she thought it would be a pretty girls name. I want to know if during the adoption, I can have her first name changed as well. I was wondering if I could get a ball-park figure of how much it would cost to adopt her and have her name changed at the same time?

Thanks,

Chris

And keep in mind that the bio-father has every right to contest the adoption.