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I need some expert help! I am starting the process of adopting my beautiful stepson! He is 15 and I have raised him full time since he was 5 years old. The BM has had no visual contact with him for 2 years and no written communication with him for over a year. She gives no financial support. She has agreed to sign over custody to me- yea! I am preparing all the forms I need ( I live in El Dorado County, CA) and I need some advice on the process. Here are the forms I have prepared: Adopt-200 Օ Adopt -220 he is American Indian ֕ Adopt-210 Adopt-215 Օ Icwa-010 (A) ICWA-020 Օ Form that relinquishes rights of BM My question- do I contact a social worker to set up a home study? Do I then go to the court with all the papers and the home study completed, and then they officiate it that day? Or do I go to court with my paperwork, then the court sets up a home study then go back on another date to make it official? Not sure if I should get an attorney or not. It seems straightforward but I want to try my hardest not to look like a goober in front of a judge. Any advice on what to expect is greatly appreciated! Thanks all!!
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When I adopted my son through stepparent adoption, first the papers were filed, then the court sent someone for a home inspection (not a full "homestudy" in the traditional sense in adoption, really just a safety inspection), we were interviewed by a court-appointed investigator (J separately from us), who then submitted a written summary of findings and recommendation to the court, then we were given a final court date for the judge to review everything and make a ruling. Ours might have been slightly different, as we were in Orange County and it started as a contested proceeding, but then in the middle J's bio mom voluntarily relinquished her rights. But that's the order in which it went for us. Take whatever forms/petitions you have completed to the court to file and declare yourself Pro Per (you are completing the process yourself without an attorney) and they should tell you the next steps in the process. Be prepared for the wheels to grind slowly. It took more than 2 yrs from the time we first filed until our final court date, but being in a different county, your process might go much faster.
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