Legal Question in Family Law in Alabama

Re: X Inlaws want to adopt my kids

First, your ex-husband's agreement that they not change the children's name is meaningless and unenforceable. Once the adoption is finalized, they will legally become the parents and you and your ex-husband have no legal rights to the children. The court will even issue a new birth certificate showing them as the parents, not you.

If they succeed in the adoption, they will be able to prevent you from seeing the children if they so choose. Therefore, you do need your attorney to put up an aggressive fight to protect your rights. If you do not feel like your attorney is working for you, I'd suggest that you sit down and discuss the situation with you to find out what he would recommend that you do to improve your chances of winning. By opening the channels of communication, you may be able to find out issues that concern your attorney or you may be able to share with him information which will make him more enthusiastic about your case.

If that fails, you can always consult with another lawyer to get a second opinion about your situation. While it is hard for one attorney to second-guess another attorney without having all of the relevant information, a second opinion may either put your mind at ease or convince you to hire someone else for the rest of the case. However the starting point should be to simply sit down with your lawyer and find out (a) what can you do to help him win the case, and (b) what is his strategy for the trial. Once you have that conversation, you should have a better idea of what you need to do.

Good luck to you.