U.S. Citizen wants to adopt permanent resident step-child

[eckerj]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Texas

I am a U.S. Citizen, my wife and step-son are permanent residents. There is no father listed on my step-son's birth certificate. In fact, the identity of the bio-father is unknown. We have been married for 8 years and my step-son has lived with us for the past 7 years. He is 13 years old now.

I went to our County Law Library and obtained a packet of forms for adoption that seems to be relevant to our situation. However, I'm unclear as to how citizenship/residence affects the process of adoption. Can this be performed in Texas? Or does it have to be performed in his native country?

 

[LdiJ]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Texas

I am a U.S. Citizen, my wife and step-son are permanent residents. There is no father listed on my step-son's birth certificate. In fact, the identity of the bio-father is unknown. We have been married for 8 years and my step-son has lived with us for the past 7 years. He is 13 years old now.

I went to our County Law Library and obtained a packet of forms for adoption that seems to be relevant to our situation. However, I'm unclear as to how citizenship/residence affects the process of adoption. Can this be performed in Texas? Or does it have to be performed in his native country?

An adoption can take place here, however you honestly need an attorney for this one. An adoption is never a DIY project. There are too many things that can go wrong. You need an attorney.

 

[eckerj]

Thank you for responding. I did contact an attorney yesterday who had quite a large
retainer. He charged a pretty high hourly rate as well for his paralegal. I'm looking
through the packet and can't seem to understand what is so difficult. Is there
something outside of this packet that an attorney would provide? Or do the courts
require additional forms that the law library did not provide?

I studied the Texas Family Code quite a bit and the law is pretty clear when it comes
to adoption. I find it interesting that as a U.S. Citizen and a Texas resident, I cannot
complete the process without giving up control to an attorney. Maybe I'm missing
something here.

 

[Isis1]

all the forms may be in there, but not the civil procedure. there are rules that need to be followed, the way it's filed, the way it's served, due diligence and due process. one small mistake, and the adoption could be vacated if dad suddenly appeared.