Legal Question in Family Law in Texas

As an adoptee, congratulations. Thank you for opening your heart to this baby!

You need to make sure that you do everything correctly, so that something does not backfire on your later. Make sure every i is dotted and every t is crossed. Adoption is a slow and sometimes frustrating process. Why? Keep reading....

The father's rights MUST be terminated. The mother's rights MUST be terminated. The forms must include the current "termination" language.

You need a judge to sign the paperwork so that it will be legal. Some judges are very "picky" since some adoptive parents have attempted to return "defective" children years later. (Yes, it happens.) And, yes, years later the terminated parents try to regain custody of their children. The judge wants to make sure that everything is done legally so that this cannot happen. You might think the judge is being "picky" but in reality the judge is protecting you!

You will need a background check.

You will need a social study. Sometimes this takes 3-6 months in large counties since only one agency does these and there is a backlog. They are not expensive but the agency is slow since they only have 1-2 workers that are approved to do them.

There will need to be an attorney appointed to represent the child. Why? To protect the baby's interests and make sure a child abuser or mentally ill person is not adopting the baby.

You need an attorney to help you through this process. Please hire someone that knows what they are doing. Please don't hire someone right out of law school or just someone that is cheap! Please!!!!! You truly get what you are paying for.

PLEASE DON'T ATTEMPT TO TRY TO DO THIS WITHOUT AN ATTORNEY.

I don't know what county you live in. Check out this website or www.avvo.com for an attorney to assist you. Most family law attorneys enjoy doing adoptions since it is one of the rare times we get to do something "fun".

Good luck!