Q: We have custody of our grandchild, now 5. Can we adopt w/o lawyer and how?
Our daughter and her boyfriend at the time, were potheads (still are) and we were given custody. My daughter was never a mom, she was always more interested in getting high. We were living in NY at the time and the dad still does, although he hasnt been in the picture for more that 3 years. My daughter is in and out of the picture. She comes home when she loses a job or is kicked out of wherever she was living. She is here again now and we are going to have to ask her to leave because she is smoking pot, doesnt have a job, doesnt clean up after herself, basically a 24 year old teenager. Our grand daughter is starting kindergarden and her birth certificate has the dads last name (hyphenated) . She does not know him or the name. We do not have a lot of money and the clerk of courts told me that we need to file a few petitions but we would need to create them ourselves and hope the judge accepts them. How do we go about doing this?
A: Well, the clerk of courts was right - you can try to do this on your own and hope, no pray, that you get it right. You really should contact an attorney. I'm not sure what state you're in but in PA, you may have a problem unless both parents willingly terminate their parental rights to allow the adoption. Since mom has had recent contact you may not reach the burden of proof for an involuntary adoption. I urge you to meet with a local attorney experienced in adoptions to obtain the information you need in order to decide how to proceed.
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