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Hi:
My partner (legal spouse) gave birth to our son in Europe (Finland). When registering his birth at the consulate - my name was not listed on the form in the Father section as we are a same sex couple. I have dual nationality with both the US and Finland. Upon his birth, as is required by Finnish law, I initiated the adoption process and it was granted with all the legal rights and obligations. So according to the Finnish government he is my son too. We subsequently moved back to the US - Maryland specifically. I went to our county court house and registered our foreign marriage (we were married before his birth). Maryland gave us certificates of registration of our marriage from the date we were married in Finland. I then went to the family court office to inquire as to whether or not there was anything I needed to do here to ensure that my legal standing as his parent was binding here too. The clerk told me that if I already adopted him then there was nothing I needed to do. Does anyone know if that is accurate information? I want to be sure that my adoption of him in Finland is valid here too and I am worried she may have given me incorrect information.
Does anyone have any experience with this?
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I'd recommend that you talk with a highly qualified adoption/immigration attorney in the U.S. You can find one by going to the website of the American Academy of Adoption Attorneys ("Quad A"), or by talking to people in a local adoption support group. An initial consultation, which can give you to the answers to your questions, is often free or low-cost. If you would like me to name one of the best American adoption attorneys I know, or to recommend someone specifically familiar with Maryland, I would be happy to do so. Send me a PM via this board, or email me at skaufman2431@comcast.net.States vary in how well they have handled issues related to gay/lesbian marriage and adoption by same sex couples. In some states, you may be advised to do a step-parent adoption, since you married the mother of a child. In others, you may be asked to do a second parent adoption, an approach developed primarily for gays/lesbians before gay/lesbian marriage was recognized, where the partner of a parent petitions to get the same rights as the parent, with regard to the care of the child. In still others, it may be suggested that you readopt or do a recognition of the foreign adoption. And in some states, you may not need to do anything at all.With second parent and step-parent adoption, the goal is giving you the same parental rights as the person who bore or adopted the child. With readoption and recognition, the goal is ensuring that the adoption of the child overseas is valid in the U.S. SharonThe process for a readopt
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