Adopting family member kids

[zdoty]

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

Here is a quick recap of the situation. We have two nieces and a nephew that have a negligent mother. The three of them do not have a dad on their birth certificate. They do know who the dad is but haven't heard from him in a year. The majority of the time my wife's parents look after the kids. I know nothing about this sort of thing so here are my questionss. Would we be able to adopt these kids assuming that the mother would give up her rights? If so, how would we go about getting that done? Would we have to get a lawyer involved or if there is nobody against it can we just fill out some paperwork? Even though there is no father listed but we know who is the father, would we have to deal with him on adopting the kids? Also, would it be right in saying if the mother or father didn't want to do this there would be know way for us to adopt them? I know that is a lot of questions, but I know nothing about adoption or law. Any information would be extremely helpful. Thank you for your time in reading this post.

Thanks

 

[Proserpina]

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

Here is a quick recap of the situation. We have two nieces and a nephew that have a negligent mother. The three of them do not have a dad on their birth certificate. They do know who the dad is but haven't heard from him in a year. The majority of the time my wife's parents look after the kids. I know nothing about this sort of thing so here are my questionss. Would we be able to adopt these kids assuming that the mother would give up her rights? If so, how would we go about getting that done? Would we have to get a lawyer involved or if there is nobody against it can we just fill out some paperwork? Even though there is no father listed but we know who is the father, would we have to deal with him on adopting the kids? Also, would it be right in saying if the mother or father didn't want to do this there would be know way for us to adopt them? I know that is a lot of questions, but I know nothing about adoption or law. Any information would be extremely helpful. Thank you for your time in reading this post.

Thanks

You would absolutely need an attorney to wade through this.

The fathers would generally need to be at least served and if they can't be located easily this complicates things considerably.

Also, if the parents do NOT agree to the adoption, you would have to prove them all unfit which is terrifically difficult to do. Adoption against the wishes of the parents is highly unlikely.

Even if all parties agree, adoption is never a do-it-yourself project.

Speak with a local adoption attorney who can guide you further.