Q: Intra-family adoption - how much if all parties agree- Granddaughter to grandparents
Our granddaughter is 16 and has lived with us over 3 years, plus several years in-between. Her mother has signed over temporary guardianship until she turns 18 but we would like to adopt and change her last name to ours as her mother has remarried several times. Her father, who she sees once a year, will sign whatever needs to be signed. As my husband is retired and I am retiring at the end of the month, our income is low and we would like to do this as inexpensively as possible because of finances. Can we do this ourselves or must we have an attorney? How much if we must have an attorney? She is already enrolled in college and plans to be a nurse but would like the name change done before she graduates.
A: Because the adoption laws can be confusing (even to some lawyers). and because an adoption can be annulled if every step is not done correctly, I would strongly recommend having an attorney. What lawyers charge for an adoption varies greatly. I don't think it would be appropriate to discuss fees in a forum such as this. However, I believe my fees are very competitive, and I would be happy to discuss this with you further; just give me a call or shoot me an email with your contact information.
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