Mothering › Forums › Parenting › Life as a Parent › Queer Parenting › Second Parent Adoption
New Posts  All Forums:Forum Nav:

Second Parent Adoption  

post #1 of 8
9/21/08 at 8:15pm
Thread Starter 
I researched second parent adoption in my state and while it is legal, I am not sure where to start. Has anyone else done this? Where do you start? Do you hire an attorney first, contact the county clerks office? Any other info you can share about it would be great thanks!
post #2 of 8
9/21/08 at 9:26pm
find a lawyer who is really familiar with the whole process. we used one in our state that helped write the second parent adoption law and the whole thing went really smoothly!

good luck!
g
post #3 of 8
9/22/08 at 10:57am
You may not need to hire an attorney at all. Do you know any other queer parents in your state who have gone through the process? I would start by asking them what they did/what the process entailed. We assumed that it would be a huge, expensive production and put it off until our twins were 3! But then we found out (after asking around) that we could do it ourselves. There was a stack of paperwork to fill out (which we got from the Family Court), and we had to provide statements from the sperm bank (saying I had purchased sperm) and the OB (saying that they had used the sperm to inseminate me), but otherwise it was all just stuff we had to sign, and was totally free.

Maybe you could start by asking here if anyone else has done a second parent adoption in IL?

Lex
post #4 of 8
9/22/08 at 11:13am
We used an attorney, because we also had her update our wills, powers of attorney, etc. at the same time, and it was just one less thing to worry about. She also drew up some additional documents to cover the six month gap between when we brought our daughter home, the finalization of her adoption, and the second parent adoption - I can't even remember the details, but they helped make my intent clear to have my partner as a co-parent.

An attorney should be able to give you an estimate up front of the costs. I think we paid around $1200, including all of the other stuff noted above. The attorney expenses can be deducted from your next year's tax return using the adoption tax credit.
post #5 of 8
9/22/08 at 9:20pm
Thread Starter 
Awesome! I guess I have an array of options. I think I'll call my county clerks office and see where they lead me....that's where I called to inquire about our domestic partnership....

Thanks for your responses!!
post #6 of 8
9/23/08 at 4:56pm
I saw that you live in Hoffman Estates. THere is an AWESOME attorney in Chicago who specializes in same sex second parent adoption. Here is her website:

http://www.mulryanandyork.com/

Rosemary Mulryan had something to do with getting this passed in Illinois. We used her and were very happy!
post #7 of 8
9/23/08 at 5:46pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by mama2rey View Post
I saw that you live in Hoffman Estates. THere is an AWESOME attorney in Chicago who specializes in same sex second parent adoption. Here is her website:

http://www.mulryanandyork.com/

Rosemary Mulryan had something to do with getting this passed in Illinois. We used her and were very happy!
Sweet! Thanks so much!!
post #8 of 8
11/5/08 at 3:01pm

another great attorney near chicago

We used Darcy Bielema. She was great!!! We were in court when our son was two weeks old which was a wonderful relief for me with medical insurance. let me know if you want more info about her.
New Posts  All Forums:Forum Nav:
  Return Home
  Back to Forum: Queer Parenting
This thread is locked  
Mothering › Forums › Parenting › Life as a Parent › Queer Parenting › Second Parent Adoption