New husband wants to adopt my daughter from previous marriage.?

Question

I got divorced last year. Durring the divorce, my ex husband signed over ALL rights to our 5 year old daughter, to me. He pays no support and does not see her. I have full cusdody. Since then, I have gotten remarried and my new husband and I want to look into having him adopt my daughter. Here are my questions.

1.) How do I go about this? & who do I talk to? (we live in Indiana)
2.) Do we need a lawyer?
3.) My daughter still has my ex husbands last name (I never got around to changing it) so do I need to change her name back to my madien name before we start the adoption process?
4.) Will my ex husband need to sign anything or will they notify him of anything?

Please only people who know what they are talking about. Thank you again for all the help!! :)

Answer 1

Sonya,

Here are a couple of links to information to help you get started in your research. I will continue to look for additonal information and repost as I find it.

http://www.dphilpotlaw.com/html/adoption.html

http://www.adoptionsolutions.com/general/state%20laws/in_law.htm

added:
http://www.kirsh.com/CM/ProspectiveAdoptiveParents/stepparent-adoptions.asp

added:

Indiana

Who may adopt?
Any resident may adopt. Spouses must petition jointly, except in the case of a stepparent adoption. Non-residents may adopt hard-to-place children.

Who may place a child for adoption?
All adoptions require prior written approval of a licensed child-placing agency or county office of family and children, other than adoptions by blood relatives or stepparents, or placements within the state by an agency located outside the state.

Is birthparent counseling required?
Indiana does not mandate birthparent counseling.

May birthparents receive assistance with expenses?
Under Indiana law, financial assistance is available for medical costs, counseling, living expenses, attorney fees, and agency fees.

How are putative father rights addressed?
Indiana maintains a putative father registry. A putative father's consent to adoption is irrevocably implied if the putative father fails to register within 30 days of the birth of the child or the filing of the petition for adoption, whichever is later. A putative father who has registered in a timely manner is entitled to notice of adoption proceedings, upon receipt of which, he must, within 30 days, file a motion to contest the adoption or commence a paternity action. A birthmother may serve a putative father with pre-birth notice by personal service indicating that she is considering an adoptive placement for the child. A putative father who is served with pre-birth notice must file a paternity action within 30 days of receipt of notice, or, having filed a paternity action, must establish paternity, in order not to consent by implication to the adoption and termination of parental rights.

When may the birthparent(s) relinquish custody and consent to adoption?
Birthparent consent is not valid if executed before birth of the child. Consent must be provided in the presence of a court, a notary public, or an authorized agent of the division of family and children, county office of family and children, or a licensed child-placing agency.

How much time does a birthparent have to change his or her mind after consenting to the termination of parental rights?
A birthparent may not withdraw consent for any reason after the adoption is final. Prior to entry of a final adoption decree, a birthparent may withdraw consent only upon demonstrating that the withdrawal of consent is in the child's best interest.


Sonya,
I hope all this helps and if I can be of more assistance feel free to contact me. I am from Indiana originally and have a cousin in Terre Haute who is a lawyer but I am not sure what specific area of practice he is in.

Best of Luck!!

Answer 2

I would definitely talk to a lawyer.I live in Indiana and my husband is going through the process of adopting my son. You don't have to change her name back to your maiden name. When your husband adopts her, her name will get changed.
If you cannot contact your ex husband (like in my case), you have to run an ad in the classifieds and he has thirty days to contest the adoption. If he doesn't contest within that time, then the adoption will go through. If not, your ex must still sign I believe. Good Luck and don't put this off too long. You never know if something happened to you, your ex might get custody over your husband.

Answer 3

We had an easy as pie step parent adoption without the use of a lawyer, but the biological father was more than willing to sign over his rights. Without that willingness, you will need a lawyer to help you strip him of his parental rights, if that's what you really think is best for your daughter. Good luck. Your ex may be all for getting out of future payments, though I think he'll still owe the arrears.

Answer 4

Hi. I am a step-parent and an adoptive parent.


To initiate an adoption in Indiana, a Petition for Adoption must be filed in the Probate Court. That Petition will contain information about the children to be adopted and the person(s) who are wanting to adopt, such as race, name, date of birth, where born, whether the children own any property, whether the children’s names will be changed, whether the persons who want to adopt are married, where they are employed, etc.


In addition, the Petition will state whether the natural mother and father of the child have given consent to the adoption or whether their parental rights have been terminated by a court, whether the person(s) who want to adopt are able to take care of the children and whether s/he/they have been convicted of a crime that would affect the adoption. Original, notarized copies must be placed in the court’s files in order for the adoption to occur.


There is a $107 filing fee that will need to be paid to the clerk of the court to file the Petition for Adoption.

In addition, the court also must have a copy of a Home Study, which is basically a report showing that the home in which the children are to be placed is suitable. The cost is $100 for a stepparent adoption. This fee is paid to the Office of Family and Children (unless a different agency does the study).


In addition, the Indiana State Board of Health must do a search of the Putative Father Registry for each child. The cost of this search is $50 per child. I would think this would be waived in your case thoough since the natural father is known, but I'm not sure.


Finally, an adoption medical history report also must be filed with the court for each child. This report does not need to be done by a physician. Anyone with knowledge about the child’s medical history can complete this document. There is a $20 fee paid for this that goes to the Indiana Department of Health.


If an ad must be run to give notice of the adoption, that ad, which can be run in the Indianapolis Recorder newspaper, will cost approximately $86. Again, in your case I wouldn't think that would be necessary since the natural father is known.

Placement of the child in the home for at least three months is required before a final hearing is held, and a couple must be married for a year or more before an adoption.

When the paperwork is all in order and is in the file, then the court will set a date for a final hearing, which in Marion County will always be on a Thursday. At the final hearing, a record of adoption must be submitted for each child. This document will be submitted to the State Department of Health’s Vital Statistics office in order to change the child’s birth certificate. In addition, a $6 check per child adopted will need to be brought to the final hearing and made out to the Department of Health in order to get a copy of the new birth certificate. Each additional copy desired is $1. I'd go ahead and get several since their cheap and with kids it seems your always needing their birth cerificates for one thing or another.

Here is a link to search statutes by state for issues related to child adoption, so you can check specifically for Indiana if there's anything else in particular you were looking for. Results will provide summaries of State statutes (and full text of laws, in some cases).
http://naic.acf.hhs.gov/general/legal/statutes/search/index.cfm

I would definitely consider retaining an attorney to help you though the process. Best wishes and God Bless.

Answer 5

I also live in Indiana . Had a friend go through this .the answer to one of your questions is no you don't need to change her name back to your maiden name . Since your ex has relinquished parental rights he will not be notified . You could use a Lawyer , but I think you can do this your self by asking the County Court Clerk What procedure to follow . Save your self some money

Answer 6

I am assuming Indiana law is similar to my state's. You should get a lawyer familiar with procedure. Here, failure to keep contact or pay support for a year is grounds for termination of parental rights. I doubt that you will need to change the child's name prior to the court action, the court can do that in the process. It is likely the Court will require your ex be notified and may require a signature by him on a form relinquishing rights. If he fails to respond, the court might terminate his rights by default. If I were going to handle this one, it would probably cost around $1500-$2000, depending on how hard it would be to get hold of your ex. Couple of other points: your new hubby would then be the legal father of your daughter. He needs to be aware that he then is responsible for ALL fatherly duties owed to a child. Also, in the event you get divorced (Heaven forbid), HE will be required to make child support payments! I've had that happen to a client of mine...

Answer 7

You DO need to consult an attorney. Look for a good Family Practice Attorney and they can answser all these questions. As long as you have the papers your ex signed you shouldn't have any trouble, and he probably shouldn't have to sign anything further. But, every case IS different which is why you need a real attorney to help you. Legal papers need to be filed and only an attorney can do that properly.

Answer 8

You absolutely need to sit down with a Family Law attorney in your area. They will have all these answers for you. Definitely worth a couple hundred bucks to make sure that something this important is done right the first time.

Good luck!!

Answer 9

You should definitely speak to a lawyer to be 100% certain that you follow all the rules properly. It is worth the investment to avoid a future incident with your ex. A lawyer can guide you through the process, help you with name changing (you shouldn't have to change it to your maiden and then to the new name), and generally assure you.

Answer 10

I think that you need to check out some websites online and then speak to a lawyer who might be able to help you answer these questions. Here is a website that MIGHT help you with some of your questions or atleast give you an idea. http://adoption.about.com/