Help with an adoption

ugh! sorry to hear about your dilemna. Your best bet is to convince BM to permit you to adopt. The state won't get involved in custody issues unless you surrender the kids or the BM is permitted to parent. You can attempt to sue for custody. For that, you'd need a lawyer who specializes in adoptions. It can get rather costly. You could contact your local DCYF or FAPA (foster adoptive parent association) and ask for a referal to someoen experienced in guardianship situations. My state, for example, has a kinship care resource. Guardianships fall on her plate. Good luck

Well that is what i am worried about. Financially, I cannot afford the 5-10 thousand minimum it will cost for a lawyer. I found several laws for Arizona but I am not sure how to approach them. AZ Title 8 Article 2 Chapter 5 8-533 and 534These state who is allowed to petition and what content they need for the petition. It also states I can petition based on the fact that she has previous children removed for drugs and other crimes but only if it has happened within the last two years (which is not the case here). Are there any lawyers out there who know these rules and can help me?Also, my other worry is that once I petition, she has the right to pull the kids from here and send them where ever she wants. Her entire family has a history of drugs and I do not think that would be a safe placement for the twins.

If she's in jail for 4.5 years, what do you expect to have happen when the 6 months is up? The children aren't going to live with her there, correct? How long is she expected to actually serve?I would call *several* private adoption agencies and/or non-profits in your area that work with foster children. Ask for referrals to good adoption attorneys. Call more than atty and ask for advice. Most will give you either an initial conversation on phone or consult in office free.

All the above is good advice. If I'm reading you right, the children are not yet 6 months old, right? Has the mother contacted you? Requested visits? Sent child support? Where is the father? You will have to deal with him, too, even if it is by publication. If neither parent has asked for visits, made contact, sent support payments, etc., do nothing. See what happens when the 6 month term (if it is written into the guardianship) expires. Let it go another three months. At that point, you should have grounds for involuntary termination (see citation below). You may not need an attorney as social services may be willing to either take custody (legal, not physical, they won't move the child unless you can't pass a homestudy) or represent the child, maybe at least as far as petitioning to have a guardian ad litem (attorney for the child's best interest) appointed by the court. (GALs are also paid by the court.) That attorney could then petition for a TPR trial. With luck, there wouldn't be much out of pocket, but there are no guarantees. The interim step is to petition to have the guardianship extended if, indeed, there is some sort of time limit actually in the original court order. You should be able to do that pro se, but consult an attorney first to find out what the notification requirements are for the parents. If there is not, do nothing. Don't pass up the opportunity to learn through free consultations. Lawyers can especially give you good insight into local court prejudice and practice--would they really return infants to a parent after a year? Two years? Four? How does case law (as opposed to statutes) affect the picture? Etc. (Arizona statutes) Circumstances That Are Grounds for Termination of Parental Rights

Rev. Stat. 8-533

Grounds to terminate the parent-child relationship shall include any of the following, with due consideration for the best interests of the child: [LIST][*]The parent has abandoned the child.[*]The parent has neglected or willfully abused a child.[*]The parent is unable to discharge parental responsibilities because of mental illness, mental deficiency, or a history of chronic abuse of dangerous drugs or alcohol, and there are reasonable grounds to believe that the condition will continue for a prolonged period.[*]The parent has been convicted of a felony of such nature as to prove the unfitness of that parent, including murder or manslaughter of another child of the parent, or if the sentence of that parent is of such length that the child will be deprived of a normal home for a period of years.[*]The potential father failed to file a paternity action within 30 days of completion of service of notice as prescribed in ǧ 8-106(G).[*]The putative father failed to file a notice of claim of paternity.[*]The parents have relinquished their rights to a child to an agency or have consented to the adoption.[*]The identity of the parent is unknown and continues to be unknown following 3 months of diligent efforts to identify and locate the parent.[*]The parent has had parental rights to another child terminated within the preceding 2 years for the same cause and is currently unable to discharge parental responsibilities due to the same cause.[/LIST]

Hadley, I was reading the very same thing...thanks! So the mother has signed the temporary guardianship to my wife and one other person. This other person is unable to provide guardianship as she is the one that adopted all of the older children from the birth mother. As of now, the birth mother does contact the other temp guardian and asks about the twins but never contacts my wife. This is a grey area I think in this topic of no contact. What do you think? My only worry here is if I petition anything, that the birth mother has the right to take th babies from our care and place them somewhere else. We want what is best for these babies. Thanks for everyone's help here!!Mike

Also, as for the father, he is also in jail as of last week (arrested by the FBI) and will be gone for a while. He is not on the birth certificates but from what I understand I should petition him for the same reason as he does not contact any of us regarding the twins. Thoughts?My wife just informed me that during the birth mom's sentencing (my wife was present) she asked if my wife would bring the babies to the jail where she will be which is several hours from here. However, we do not feel we should bring the babies to a state prison for any reason.

Has the mother actually been sentenced to 4.5 years, or is that the minimum she could serve? If the sentence is 4.5, what is the minimum she could serve with good behavior and parole?

Sentenced to 4.5 so she will serve about 3.5 or so.