Legal Question in Family Law in Georgia
My husband and I separated for a few months and he got another woman pregnant. She wants to terminate her rights and I want to adopt the baby, but we don't know how to go about this. The baby is due this Spring, she lives in NC, and we live in GA.
3 Answers from Attorneys
If she is in NC, it is a NC issue and this post is going to GA lawyers. However, the answer is the same - hire a good lawyer who does adoptions (in the area in which the other woman lives).
You'll need a Georgia lawyer, but may also need a NC one. This can be done via a step-parent adoption in Georgia, but most of the work must be done after birth, and the birth mother can change her mind after birth. You may want to line up an adoption attorney now so you make no missteps on the way and so you are prepared in advance for the right paperwork and the expense. If the birth mother is in a different state than you, that adds cost and difficulty to the case. The Interstate Compact on the Placement of Children (ICPC) is statutory law in all 50 states and U.S. territories. Before a child born in one state can be taken to another state for the purpose of adoption, both the state where the child was born and the state where the child is going, must give approval. Cases with all parties in the same state are simpler.
I erred in misreading the question (the perils of a quick read). I was thinking that her former husband was the father and her present husband was adopting, which came from a separate post the poster did on another site. Now that I have re-read the other post along with this one it appears her present husband is the father. So let me amend my answer to indicate there is no ICPC problem, but she still should line up a lawyer now so everything can be done properly and expeditiously at the right times.