My niece wants to give my husband and I custody of her daughter. Can she??

October 25, 2012

I don't know about your State laws so take my experience with a grain of salt and consult an Attorney:)

A relative of my husband went to jail when her baby was only 4 days old. The family asked if we would take him. Mom signed Power Of Attorney over to us so we could get him the medical care he needed.

He lived with us for 6 weeks(DHS knew of this, we interviewed with them, but they never did a homestudy or came to our house). After the 6 weeks was up and mom got of jail, she asked if we would keep the baby a while longer. Of course we said Yes! Then a few days later she asked if we would adopt him. She had been thinking about adoption from the day she decided not to terminate her pregnancy.

We hired an attorney, the Judge waived the homestudy and the 6 month waiting period for finalization. The judge, did however, require that birthmom sign the adoption decree in the lawyers office since she decided not to go to court with us. She signed the very next day. The courts terminated birthfather rights based on our States laws. It was a crazy whirlwind.

I personally believe, but am not certain, that it went so smoothly because the child had already been in our physical custody, living in our home. The adoption was final when he was 3 months old.

Also, our attorney did tell us we could just get full custody first then adopt later on, but we all decided that straight adoption would be best.

So to answer your question....it's very likely she can sign over custody and then adopt later. Find out your State laws and consult with an attorney:) Good luck!