adoption by grandparents

missouriWhat is the name of your state?

my ex wife and i would like her parents to take full custody or adopt our two minor children, ages 9 & 7. what would be the procedure, can court be avoided?

Any time you are dealing with children a lawyer would be advised just to make sure everyone is in full agreement of how they want it to be and there are no loopholes later if something doesn't go exactly as planned. You can do it with out a lawyer but it would still have to go through court for a legal adoption and certain steps would have to be taken. The best interest of the kids needs to be kept in mind.