Can my parents adopt my son?

Question

I broke up with my girlfriend a year ago and we have a son. We had custody battle for our son and the judge gave me the sole custody of my son because my former girlfriend was found to be incompetent to take care of our child. Lately, I am having some financial problems because I was out of work for about 4 months now. My question is, can my parents adopt my son? I am worried that my former girlfriend or his parents will take me to court to get custody of my son since I am not capable at the moment of taking care of him.... Thanks in advance for your replies.

Answer 1

Yes; your parents can adopt your child IF both bio-parents relinquish all parental rights. This means that even though your girlfriend does not have custody, she would need to sign off her parental rights also. Sounds like you may not be able to get her to do that based on your details in your question.

We adopted our son from his biological grandparents - which is why I know that your parents can adopt your child.

However, as one answer suggests above, you might want to see if you can assign "temporary" custody to your parents which may not require your girlfriend's "permission". An attorney who specializes in family law should be able to tell you the proper way to proceed.

Good luck to you!

Answer 2

Unless your ex-girlfriend had her parental rights taken away completely. Meaning she has no right to your son what so ever you cannot without her consent let your parents adopt him. However, if you are living with your parents and they are helping you out during this rough patch I do not see why the judge would remove him from your custody. As long as the child has adequate shelter, food, medical care and supervision the court usually will let the child remain where he/she is. One more thing. You are going through a rough spot. It will get better, don't give up your child even to your parents because of this. It is very admirable that you are raising your son reach out for help. You are in titled to child support from your ex-girlfriend. you can also file for medical assistance, food stamps and welfare. Please don't look down on these valuable programs. They were designed for the rough patches. I wish you and your son all of the best. D & G Gifts Etc

Answer 3

They can become temporary guardians, but they cannot adopt the child unless your girlfriend agrees. Your parents do not need to adopt your son to care for him. Maybe they have control issues.

My childhood neighbors had this issue. Both of the young men ended up with custody of their babies because the mothers were incompetent. One was out of work for awhile and just got jobs at grocery stores until work picked up again (he was in construction). Adoption by parents? There simply isn't any reason to!

Answer 4

Yes they can adopt your son but unless the mother has lost all her rights or signed them over, you'll have to have her permission. I know this because I allowed my parents to adopt my son 19 years ago. It will be harder for your parents to prove her unfit than it did you. The courts here in Louisiana consider either of the parents for custody before they do the grandparents. You might consider giving them temporary custody. As long as your son has all he needs & you're being a good father, her & her parents can't prove you unfit. Can you & your son stay with your parents til you get back on your feet?

Answer 5

Yes they can but they will have to go through a homestudy and background check and have a lawyer, it can be quite expensive. Plus you have to get a judge to agree that your son is better off with them instead of your ex or her parents if they contest. She willl have to sign away parental rights first and she might not be willing to do that. If she isnt you will have to fight in court to have her rights taken, but since she was proven incompetent that might not be hard to do.

We had guardinship of my niece for 6 years and never did the adoption because we lacked the $10,000 to do it. I would suggest legal guardianship which is really a lot like adoption but less final. To do so you still need both parents to sign off on it, atleat that is how it works in my steate Just be up front with your parents before hand if you think you might want your son back one day, I have had that happen to me and its very heart breaking

Answer 6

Would you not consider fostering your son to your parents instead?

If you dont want it to be a permanent thing then this would be better for you. You could get yourself back on your feet and want your son back but its more difficult to do this if he has been adopted so I would consider other short term plans if you eventually want him back

You should talk to the specailists and voice your concerns first though to see if there is anyway of helpping you physically, emotionally and financially. Dont be afraid or feel you have let your son down. They will be able to help you and give you some needed advice

Good luck and keep your chin up. A job will come along for you so dont give up

Answer 7

Only a child that has been legally abandoned, or whose parents have been found legally incompetent, can be legally adopted.

Custodial rights of biological parents are pretty much written in stone. This means that, since you are a biological parent, your custodial rights are guaranteed unless you are found to be incompetent. As you must have found out during your custody battle, it takes quite a lot more than financial problems to be declared legally incompetent to care for your own child.

The only person who can, legally, fight you for custody is the child's mother, if she has improved to the point that she could be found to be a better parent than you. Her parents can't get custody instead of you. Likewise, your ex-girlfriend's custodial rights take precedence over your parents, again because she is a biological parent.

If you are on good terms with your parents, as you seem to be, then all you need is for them to be there to help you out if you have problems providing for your son. If there is a battle, the court is likely to be satisfied if your parents demonstrate their willingness to help you, as long as you have indeed been a good parent during this time.

Hope this helps.

Answer 8

It would be easy to give your parents legal guardianship. We have legal guardianship for our grandson. It enables us to make medical decisions, enroll him in school, and so on. It was simply a matter of getting the form from the Dept. of Children and Families and taking it to a notary. If you go for adoption, the court would have to involve the mother. Unless the mother's rights have been terminated, she would have to have her rights terminated or voluntarily surrender them. If not, she could argue that her parents would make better care-givers for the child. Legal guardianship would probably be your best option if you do not want to risk having the child taken from you. If you go in saying you can't provide for him, the mother will have the right, as she should, to attempt to prove that she is capable. Her rights supercede those of your parents. If finances are the sole issue, you may be able to get support from the state if you meet certain criteria. Good luck.

Answer 9

If your girlfriends parental rights are terminated then yes your parents can adopt your son. If not then you have to go through the courts to have them terminated before an adoption process can begin. Also it may be possible to sign temporary guardianship over to your parents without them formally adopting your son.

Answer 10

you parents can adopt the child but both you and the mother would have to have parental rights terminated. This would have to be done voluntarily (you) or done through the courts (long process). Either way good luck with it. It sounds like you are trying to do what is best for your son.