Stepchild adoption

[dionsmom]

I just wanna know how do we process the adoption for my 2-year-old son without paying a lawyer.

I had my son out of wedlock. Me and his biological father separated when I was still 3-months pregnant and never heard anything from him since then. In fact, in my son's birth certificate, the Father Section is blank.

Now I'm married and me and my husband wants to have my son's last name to be the same as ours (my husband's).

I've read in another forum that I need to get a consent from my son's biological father and I don't know how's that possible when I don't know where to find him.

I hope someone here can help me. Thanks!

State - TX

[Zigner]

Originally Posted by dionsmom

I just wanna know how do we process the adoption for my 2-year-old son without paying a lawyer.

I had my son out of wedlock. Me and his biological father separated when I was still 3-months pregnant and never heard anything from him since then. In fact, in my son's birth certificate, the Father Section is blank.

Now I'm married and me and my husband wants to have my son's last name to be the same as ours (my husband's).

I've read in another forum that I need to get a consent from my son's biological father and I don't know how's that possible when I don't know where to find him.

I hope someone here can help me. Thanks!

State - TX

You will want the assistance of an attorney.

But, if all you're looking for is for the names to be the same, you have a much easier route...

You and your husband can change your names!

[dionsmom]

Originally Posted by Zigner

You will want the assistance of an attorney.

But, if all you're looking for is for the names to be the same, you have a much easier route...

You and your husband can change your names!

When I said "wanted to have my son's last name to be the same as ours (my husband's)", I mean LEGALLY.

I don't think it is easier for us both of my husband to have our names changed than have our 2-year-old cos he doesn't have SSN, Driver's license, and the like. But thank you for your response though.

I hope to hear more input from the other members of this forum.

[Wirelessany1]

Originally Posted by dionsmom

When I said "wanted to have my son's last name to be the same as ours (my husband's)", I mean LEGALLY.

I don't think it is easier for us both of my husband to have our names changed than have our 2-year-old cos he doesn't have SSN, Driver's license, and the like. But thank you for your response though.

I hope to hear more input from the other members of this forum.

Zigner is correct. An adoption is not a DIY project. You will need an attorney.

Zig - some people just don't get good humor. I got a chuckle out of that one.

[dionsmom]

Originally Posted by Wirelessany1

Zigner is correct. An adoption is not a DIY project. You will need an attorney.

Zig - some people just don't get good humor. I got a chuckle out of that one.

Oh..thanks..for the response and for telling me that I need to laugh on that statement

[Zigner]

I'm glad you got a laugh...but I was actually being serious. Why change the child's name? It would be easier to change your name(s).

[CourtClerk]

Why doesn't the two year old have a social security number?????

[haiku]

Your 2 year old should have an SS#

Bottom line is, because your bio dad is "missing", you are going to have to consult a lawyer. Whether you will need the lawyer all the way through the process, depends on Texas law.

You need to be aware that step parental adoption is more complicated than it looks, and should not be attempted without a lawyer consult, as to how to proceed. If you screw up on your own, you may cause more expensive problems and heartache than the adoption was ever worth.

[dionsmom]

Originally Posted by haiku

Your 2 year old should have an SS#

Bottom line is, because your bio dad is "missing", you are going to have to consult a lawyer. Whether you will need the lawyer all the way through the process, depends on Texas law.

You need to be aware that step parental adoption is more complicated than it looks, and should not be attempted without a lawyer consult, as to how to proceed. If you screw up on your own, you may cause more expensive problems and heartache than the adoption was ever worth.

Thanks! We'll just get a lawyer then. Our son doesn't have SSN cos we just got here in the US from other country as an immigrant and we're still on the process of getting our greencards. After we have his GC, we'll get SSN for him.

[LdiJ]

Originally Posted by dionsmom

Thanks! We'll just get a lawyer then. Our son doesn't have SSN cos we just got here in the US from other country as an immigrant and we're still on the process of getting our greencards. After we have his GC, we'll get SSN for him.

Then its absolutely imperative that you have an attorney for a stepparent adoption. With your set of circumstances its clearly not something that you can do without one.

[Blue Meanie]

Originally Posted by dionsmom

Thanks! We'll just get a lawyer then. Our son doesn't have SSN cos we just got here in the US from other country as an immigrant and we're still on the process of getting our greencards. After we have his GC, we'll get SSN for him.

You took your child out of his home country without taking care of this first?? This is not a U.S. Law issue as the child is a citizen of another (unknown) country.

[Dogmatique]

What's the status of you and your family, OP?

(in regards to immigration)

Where is dad?

Where is your home country? (this might be important)

[Seanscott]

In our stepparent adoption case, we were able to consult with an attorney for only $50. It was money well spent

[james.esh]

I agree with the comments regarding the likely need to have an attorney assist with this request.

In order to change the name, you will need to notify the biological dad, so he will still need to be involved --

If this is case which can be handled by the Texas courts, there are numerous steps which an attorney can assist you with. The bio father's parental rights will need to be terminated (voluntarily or involuntarily), an attorney ad-litem will likely need to be appointed, a pre-home study and post home-study will need to be considered, the length of time the child has lived with the adopting parent, the age of the child, etc. These are just a few considerations that must be taken into account.

*** Provided for informational purposes only. No relationship is created by this post. ***

[Dogmatique]

Originally Posted by james.esh

I agree with the comments regarding the likely need to have an attorney assist with this request.

In order to change the name, you will need to notify the biological dad, so he will still need to be involved --

If this is case which can be handled by the Texas courts, there are numerous steps which an attorney can assist you with. The bio father's parental rights will need to be terminated (voluntarily or involuntarily), an attorney ad-litem will likely need to be appointed, a pre-home study and post home-study will need to be considered, the length of time the child has lived with the adopting parent, the age of the child, etc. These are just a few considerations that must be taken into account.

*** Provided for informational purposes only. No relationship is created by this post. ***

I'm not convinced it will be that straight-forward; we need far more information.

If Mom has taken the child from Dad's country without Dad's permission/knowledge she might be in serious trouble (if permission is required by the home country). At this juncture we don't even know if the US has jurisdiction and it does sound like there are going to be immigration questions along with the family matters.

OP, where are you all from? What's the actual immigrant status of everyone involved?

Did you need Dad's permission before you could take the child out of the country?