can my real father adopt me

[almostofage]

What is the name of your state? LA

When i was a child (6) my mother had her husband adopt me. I didnt want this, but as I was a child I had no say.

I will be 18 in 4 months. And I want my real dad's name again. I have gotten to know him as I was a teen and have gotten closer to him as well. On my 18th birthday I am moving in with him. And I would just rather carry on his name than that of my mothers second husband.

Will we need a lawyer or will it be something we could do ourselves?

thanks for your help

 

[Ohiogal]

What is the name of your state? LA

When i was a child (6) my mother had her husband adopt me. I didnt want this, but as I was a child I had no say.

I will be 18 in 4 months. And I want my real dad's name again. I have gotten to know him as I was a teen and have gotten closer to him as well. On my 18th birthday I am moving in with him. And I would just rather carry on his name than that of my mothers second husband.

Will we need a lawyer or will it be something we could do ourselves?

thanks for your help

You could do a name change probably but your dad probably cannot adopt you due to tha tinvolving termination of your dad's parental rights.

 

[shell007]

You could do a name change probably but your dad probably cannot adopt you due to tha tinvolving termination of your dad's parental rights.

Just curious, but what about the fact that this OP will be an adult? Can someone actually adopt an adult?

 

[almostofage]

What can be done legally so that if I need life saving surgery, or life support that my real dad would have more say then mothers second husband. Even if i change my name, until i marry it would come to my parents to make that choice, and as the law sees it. that is my mom and her husband. And in all honesty, my mom is so afraid of losing this guy she would prolly go with what ever he said even if it were to cost me my life.

 

[Ithildriel]

What can be done legally so that if I need life saving surgery, or life support that my real dad would have more say then mothers second husband. Even if i change my name, until i marry it would come to my parents to make that choice, and as the law sees it. that is my mom and her husband. And in all honesty, my mom is so afraid of losing this guy she would prolly go with what ever he said even if it were to cost me my life.

Have a living will, also known as a Medical Power of Attorney, or Advanced Health Care directive drawn up. File a copy with your doctor, and give a copy to the person that you name as your POA for medical, in this case your dad. A google search on living wills should get you a form that would be legal for your state. All you need is to have two people that are not listed as the POA to witness your signature. It does not need to be notarized.

Edited to add, make sure to list dad as the emergency contact at any health care facility that you do paperwork at.

 

[almostofage]

thank you very much for this info. This will be the first thing I do on my 18th bday.

 

[Ohiogal]

Just curious, but what about the fact that this OP will be an adult? Can someone actually adopt an adult?

Yes adults can be adopted.

 

[Ohiogal]

Have a living will, also known as a Medical Power of Attorney, or Advanced Health Care directive drawn up. File a copy with your doctor, and give a copy to the person that you name as your POA for medical, in this case your dad. A google search on living wills should get you a form that would be legal for your state. All you need is to have two people that are not listed as the POA to witness your signature. It does not need to be notarized.

Edited to add, make sure to list dad as the emergency contact at any health care facility that you do paperwork at.

What Ith said. YOu can appoint anyone to make those decisions for you provided they are competent to do so. But you need to make sure you have several copies and DO NOT PUT THEM IN A SAFE DEPOSIT BOX IN A BANK! YOU WANT THEM ACCESSIBLE!

 

[almostofage]

So I can be adopted by my father? you confused me

I plan on giving one to my mother and her husband as I am walkng out the door so they know my intentions, as well as give one to my father, doctor, and both sets of grandparents. No since in being underprepared

 

[Ithildriel]

So I can be adopted by my father? you confused me

I plan on giving one to my mother and her husband as I am walkng out the door so they know my intentions, as well as give one to my father, doctor, and both sets of grandparents. No since in being underprepared

I'm not sure I would give a copy to mom and step dad. A photocopy of the document is legal, and god forgid they altered it in someway...No I would just show it to her.

You should choose a POA and an alternate, and make sure that both have a copy. Giving a copy to your grandparents as well is a good idea.

 

[almostofage]

Thank you once again for the advice.

 

[Ohiogal]

So I can be adopted by my father? you confused me

I plan on giving one to my mother and her husband as I am walkng out the door so they know my intentions, as well as give one to my father, doctor, and both sets of grandparents. No since in being underprepared

You can be adopted by your father as long as there is a legal reason but it would result in termination of parental rights which is NOT accomplished by just saying I want HIM to be my daddy.

 

[almostofage]

What legal reason would I need after I turn 18?

 

[LdiJ]

What is the name of your state? LA

When i was a child (6) my mother had her husband adopt me. I didnt want this, but as I was a child I had no say.

I will be 18 in 4 months. And I want my real dad's name again. I have gotten to know him as I was a teen and have gotten closer to him as well. On my 18th birthday I am moving in with him. And I would just rather carry on his name than that of my mothers second husband.

Will we need a lawyer or will it be something we could do ourselves?

thanks for your help

As far as your last name is concerned, that you can easily change once you are a legal adult. You pretty much can give yourself any name that you like.

Adoption is far more complicated. For that you really need an attorney.

 

[LdiJ]

You can be adopted by your father as long as there is a legal reason but it would result in termination of parental rights which is NOT accomplished by just saying I want HIM to be my daddy.

I didn't even pay attention to the other responses when I made my last response....my bad.

I do want to point out however that I know several people who were involved in adult adoptions, in several different states.....and it was basically just as easy as saying "I want HIM to be my daddy".

The existing legal parents didn't have to be served or notified of the adoption. Nor did the parties have to go through the process of terminating their parental rights.

However, what makes it sticky, and why I recommended that he consult an attorney, is that it ends up being a single parent adoption. Therefore not only would it remove his stepfather as his legal father, but it would also remove his mother as his legal mother....which is something that he could seriously regret in the future.