Stepparent adoption in New York

[masterpiece 2]

I just have not been able to find enough resources online about the steps to take for stepparent adoption. Somehow the links i have found all lead to the doorsteps of some attorney. Fiancee will be arriving with stepson and we were hoping we could complete adoption proceedings before sending in his AOS but the few items i have read, thus far, do not seem to suggest this is possible within the desired time frame.

I have collected a bunch of forms from the county courthouse. But there are so many questions i have been unable to find answers to....

Does NYS insist on a certain amount of time when fiancee and i must be married before actually starting the process? Are there avenues for expediting the process since this particular adoption is a straightforward case? I hate to imagine a scenario where my fiancee assumes my family name after we get married while stepson retains former surname.

The forms i collected appear so antiquated that sometimes iwonder if the clerk gave me the current batch of forms (i bet she did).

Anyway, for the experienced paralegals/attorneys who have the links for NYS stepparent adoption, kindly send such my way......and yes i believe i can do this without retaining an attorney. If there was any indication of a complicated case, then i would gladly seek counsel.

[sunandmoon 450]

your fiance cannot petition a parent until they become a US Citizen.

[masterpiece 2]

Forgive me, but did you actually read my post? Where did parent come into the equation?

[zyggy 9]

Adoptions are extremely complicated and should not be done without an attorney, period.

You also realize that the non-custodial parent will have to willingly terminate their parental rights in order to adopt him. Your spouse having full custody is not equivalent to termination of their parental rights. Permission from the home country may be required for the adoption as well.

Edited November 16, 2006 by zyggy

[Anastassia 0]

Masterpiece,

although we live in Virginia I will tell you what the lawyer here told us right after we got married. He suggested to wait a while (however did not specify how long) because of two reasons:

1. Our marriage was very fresh.

3. My immigration status was unclear (it was when my AOS was sent off and he thought we should wait till I get a green card)

However, he did not say it was impossible for my husband to adopt my son. He thought that at that point it would have been extremely difficult, expensive (he said the judge may order to hire a separate lawyer to represent my son), and time consuming if we wanted to proceed.

I would not mind following your updates on the subject, so please post here if you have something to share.

Good luck

Ana

oh here is what I just found:

Some States, however, will not approve a stepparent adoption unless the custodial parent has been married to the stepparent for 1 year or longer.

http://library.adoption.com/laws-legal-iss...icle/117/1.html

[masterpiece 2]

Appreciate the comments.