How long does relative adoption take? and how can I speed up the process?

BPD Wife

Are you doing the relative adoption thru the State of NJ (meaning is the State involved such as with kinship care or foster care)? Or are you doing this privately or through an agency as an identified adoption?

The reason that I ask is that the State of NJ may make the process harder - at least it did for us.

If you are using an attorney, he/she can probably help with speeding up the process especially if a medical condition is present. Although the State of NJ was involved with our son before our adoption (as he was in kinship care with his grandparents), an attorney was able to get them a court hearing with family court to obtain legal custody for the purpose of adoption (to us) to thus remove the state. Because our son has a medical condition, they were able to speed up the process so that the state did not put him in foster care. Although we were not related to the biological family, our situation was somewhat similar in that the bio-grandparents received custody and then placed him with us for adoption because they felt that with his medical condition and their ages, he needed a younger family.

We met our son in January and brought him home in May of the same year. Our situation was rather unique, but it is possible to have the courts assist with speeding up the process if health issues are involved. It is rare, but possible. Your best bet is to contact an attorney for assistance.

Also, because you live in CA, and the child is in NJ, you will most probably have to go through the interstate compact before you can bring the child home. It's just paperwork that needs to be filed and approved but it can take up to 2 weeks and unfortunately, you aren't allowed to leave NJ until you receive the approval. We lived in PA, only about 10 minutes over the NJ/PA border, and we couldn't bring our son into PA until the paperwork was approved.

Good luck to you.

journeeluv

depending on the situation and the lawyer it can be pretty fast. In florida in 2000 i had a relative adoption done. I did not have to do a homestudy. the whole process took maybe 2 months tops. However after the papers were signed the was a 1 year period that the parent could change their mind.

mom of many

Every state is different/ Some states require homestudies in all adoptions. First, contact a lawyer who handles adoptions. They can guide you thru it all. An immediate solution would be to get guardianship of the young man. That would get you full custody quickly and is more legally binding than regular custody and with all the rights of parents. At 14 he may not be willing to change his name and be adopted.

Still Me

You could consider going ahead and getting a private Adoption Homestudy done, if the state will accept it. This often speeds things us, because each state is so backlogged. Homestudies run about $500-$1200. You can type in Adoption Homestudy and then your state and will get contacts. Or you can type in 1-800-Homestudy. Good luck to you!!

ladybmw1218

May I ask why adoption instead of legal guardianship, as is the usual course of events in such family situations?

fawneyblue

we have been trying to adopt our grand daughters since a year and a half good luck are you all in the same state ours is interstate adoption

April

You need to have the parents sign away their rights and stand up for you in court saying that this was what they want for thier child. I did this with my mother and it made things go much faster.

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