Helpful links for forms, laws, etc....

I wanted to thank you so much for your post. I just got a call today from my step childrens mother, she asked me to adopt the children, that she couldn't take care of them. She is way behind in child support, spent time in jail for it, and she just had another baby and doesn't want to go back to jail now. She hasn't had any contact with the children in almost 7 years, she just refused to let me adopt them because of anger. I am going to have the Best Mother's Day ever this year. Thank you again and God Bless. Happy Mother's Day.

Just moving this back up for visability. :D

Here is a link for name change information. Scroll to the bottom and it has name change laws for all 50 states. [url]http://www.namechangelaw.com/index.asp[/url]

Hello Kallen, I got kind of lost trying to find the unpublished cases. I'm sure I'm just missing something. But could you give a little more direction on that one.

When you go to the court link look on the left hand side of the screen and you will see "unpublished cases" click on that and the cases will come up for the last 100 hours for all the courts. You can find the cases for the appeallate court in your area and other counties as well. The cases come up in either Word or Acrobat Reader. I hope this helps!

Here are some links I found with recent legislation and rulings made pertaining to adoption. Laws change and are at times interpreted differently. This is a great way to see what the judges are thinking. [url]http://www.webcom.com/kmc/adoption/adoption.html[/url] [url]http://www.california-adoption.org/legislation.html[/url]

I remember well the frustration of speaking to the court clerks and asking them what a petition was. Either I couldn't get a straight answer or one I fully comprehended, so without further adieu..... Here is an example of the petition I used in 2002. You can use the legal document template in WORD to write a petition. The symbol that precedes a section of law can be found under symbols in your WORD program and is also on some typewriters. This petition format was accepted in SAN DIEGO. My petition also contained a footer with the title of the document, in this case: PETITION TO DECLARE FREEDOM FROM THE CUSTODY AND CONTROL and the number of pages, ie: page 1 of 3 ALWAYS CHECK WITH THE COURT CLERK TO SEE IF YOUR PETITION FORMAT IS CORRECT BEFORE YOU FILE! Different courts have different rules, you will need to ask a court clerk if they have any special way they want a petition done. Some courts want them written only on recycled paper or want a blue page backing on the petition. If you are not sure how the court wants the petition done do not be afraid to ASK! Most petitions must be written on numbered pleading paper. If you have WORD and use the legal document template it will number the paper for you. If you are using a typewriter you may have to purchase numbered pleading paper. And always, always, always, PROOF READ IT!! Triple and quadruple check your petition for correctness. Remember, spell check does not catch everything ie: punctuation or grammatical errors, so really read it over. Here is an example, and it is only an example, so you can get the idea of what a petition is and looks like. Jane Smith 1234 Any Street. Anytown, Ca. 92000 IN PRO PER SUPERIOR COURT OF CALIFORNIA, COUNTY OF SAN DIEGO JUVINILLE DIVISION IN THE MATTER OF THE PETITION TO DECLARE JILL DOE, A FEMALE MINOR, FREEDOM FROM THE CUSTODY AND CONTROL OF HER FATHER, JOHN DOE Jr. PUSUANT TO FAMILY CODE ǧ 7822) (this is written inside the parenthesis on the left of the paper) Case No.: PETITION TO DECLARE FREEDOM FROM THE CUSTODY AND CONTROL (this is written on the right side of the parenthesis.) 1. The petitioners full name is Jane Mary Smith. 2.The petitioner requests that the minor, Jill Doe, be declared free from the custody and control of her father, John Doe Jr., as pursuant to California Family Code ҧ 7822 subdivision (a) A proceeding under this part may be brought where the child has been left without provision for the child's identification by the child's parent or parents or by others or has been left by both parents or the sole parent in the care and custody of another for a period of six months or by one parent in the care and custody of the other parent for a period of one year without any provision for the child's support, or without communication from the parent or parents, with the intent on the part of the parent or parents to abandon the child. (b) The failure to provide identification, failure to provide support, or failure to communicate is presumptive evidence of the intent to abandon. If the parent or parents have made only token efforts to support or communicate with the child, the court may declare the child abandoned by the parent or parents. (notice how I wrote out the entire code section, this is the grounds for your petition. So whatever code you are using write the whole thing out.) 3. The minor is a female. 4. The minors full name at birth: Jill Lynn Doe. 5. The minor was born January 1, 1996. 6. The minor was born in the city of San Diego, in the state of California. 7. The petitioner retains sole legal and physical custody of the minor, and has retained such custody since the minorҒs birth. 8. Documents in support of this petition are attached. (after you write the petition, if you have supporting documents proving your case such as a divorce decree with the custody order, these would be attached to the back of the petition unless court rules state otherwise.) WHEREFORE, petitioner prays that the minor, Jill Doe, be declared FREE FROM THE CUSTODY AND CONTROL, of her father John Doe Jr., for the purpose of stepparent adoption by the petitioners spouse. I declare under penalty of perjury that to the best of my knowledge and belief, that the foregoing is true and correct. X______________________( be sure you don't forget your signature) Jane Smith 1234 Any Street Any Town, Ca. 92000 In Pro Per Once you are done writing your petition and it is exactly how you want it make several copies. I would make at least 5. I hope this helps!

If your ex is in jail (not prison, they are different) and they will consent to a stepparent adoption you can call and speak to an officer on duty and see if they will have a deputy take the paperwork to the inmate and witness it. If they will you just need to go down to the facility and give them the paperwork and they will take it to the inmate for signature and hand it back to you. If the facility is too far way to travel to, ask how you should go about mailing it and having it witnessed. If your ex is in prison, you will have to contact the prison and speak to someone in thier legal department. They will instruct you on how to send paperwork to them. The prison legal department will take care of serving and witnessing any paperwork. If they refuse to consent and you need to file a petition to terminate rights, depending on the crime they committed and if they have been convicted you may be able to terminate under this California Family Code. 7825. (a) A proceeding under this part may be brought where both of the following requirements are satisfied: (1) The child is one whose parent or parents are convicted of a felony. (2) The facts of the crime of which the parent or parents were convicted are of such a nature so as to prove the unfitness of the parent or parents to have the future custody and control of the child. (b) The mother of a child may bring a proceeding under this part against the father of the child, where the child was conceived as a result of an act in violation of Section 261 of the Penal Code, and where the father was convicted of that violation. For purposes of this subdivision, there is a conclusive presumption that the father is unfit to have custody or control of the child. Assault with a deadly weapon is an example. Many times the incarcerated parent may not qualify under the abandonment statute if they call or write regularly. You need to have proof of the crime and the length of incarceration. This helps you with your petition. You can usually pull the court record and have copies made to file with your petition. Just contact the court clerk on how to do this. Good Luck!

This is interesting reading if you are planning on petitioning under this code. Filed on Jul 30 2004 Case # A102872 Neumann v. Melgar FIRST APPELLATE DISTRICT [url]http://www.courtinfo.ca.gov/cgi-bin/opinions.cgi[/url]

Moving this back up for those of you just starting out. The links and info here may help get you going in the right direction. :)

For those of you just starting out you may want to take take a couple of legal research classes. They are sometimes offered for a nominal fee at law libraries and those are usually open to the public. Sometimes there are classes and seminars offered at law schools that you can attend. They are usually a bit more for the general public then they are for law students but can be well worth the expense. I know taking some classes at the law library helped me a great deal. They have some fantastic ones offered where I live, in San Diego, and they range from $5-$10. Check your community colleges as well. I know that some of the community colleges here offer classes in family law. They are geared for legal assistants and paralegals but they teach you how to research and fill out the forms and write pleadings and petitions. They also teach you the terminology and the instructors are usually attorneys or judges or other well qualified legal professionals. Class is a great place to ask questions and get more than one person brainstorming with you and then you have the instructor guiding you into the right direction. It an option you may want to look into. I know taking classes just helped me get a better understanding of the legal system and why things worked the way they did. It gives you a different perspective, it also helps ease fears and frustrations because you get a better sense of what is going on. I highly recommend taking a few classes. It also helps you feel like you are doing SOMETHING. I know from experience how completely powerless and stressed out you feel when you have a petition for adoption going on. Knowledge in this type of a situation is power. The more you know the more in control and less stressed you feel. Even if you hire an attorney....you knowing more about your case and the law applicable to it is an asset. The attorney will not have the time nor the resources to devote to your case like you will. Good luck to all of you just starting out!