adoption

[gsbubs]

I have raised my grandson since birth.The father is unknown and my daughter wants me
and her father to be "legal" parents to her son since we are the parents he knows.We will gladly adopt him.We live in utah.Do we need a lawyer? How much will it cost?Where do I start with the process?

 

[lawrat]

I am a law school graduate. What I offer is mere information, not to be construed as forming an attorney client relationship.

I applaud your love given to your grandson and your desire to adopt him as your own. Many people don't do such things in this day and age anymore. Nice to see family looking after family.

It is always a good idea to get a family law attorney to handle this for a lot of reasons: make sure all proper paperwork is filed, all waivers/parental rights terminated, etc. Estate planning issues are important here, as well.

You have one problem that might be overcome if you win on abandonment issues: the father of the child needs to consent to this adoption by waiving/terminating his parental rights. If the father is unknown, this should be easy enough.

Try these sites:

http://www.hsdcfs.state.ut.us/ ( a good resource)

http://www.le.state.ut.us/~code/TITLE78/78_27.htm (the law in Utah)

http://www.theadoptioncenter.com/