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Adoption Laws By State...LEGAL EAGLES come on in!

TiffanyBlue927TiffanyBlue927
in Adoption

Question regarding individual state adoption law.....If a state law determines that out of state residents can not finalize in their particular state, does that mean that if you do not reside in the state you are adopting from you can not adopt a child from that state or does it mean that you will need to use an in-state agency as well as an agency from your home state.

For example, if someone lives in NJ, and wants to adopt from North Carolina, the law there states that out of state residents can not finalize their adoption.I am not sure of the consequences of that law....can I not go there to adopt at all, or do I need to use a NC agency to finalize?

My brother lives in NC and we were planning to network there soon and I am now not sure if it is worth my time. I am going to  go anyway, cause it's my vacation but I don't want to waste print media there if I can't finalize the potential adoption.

Any input, Ladies? Thanks!!!

WHAT'S IN MY CAMERA BAG: Canon 40D, 50 mm 1.8 prime and not much else yet! Learning to edit with PSE 8 AND LR 3. My real name isn't Tiffany, and I'm a photography newbie! Lilypie Second Birthday tickers Image and video hosting by TinyPic
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Re: Adoption Laws By State...LEGAL EAGLES come on in!

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    CaptainSeriousCaptainSerious member
    I would hesitate to give you an answer without seeing the applicable statutes.  I think your best bet for a quick answer would be to consult with an adoption attorney or an agency based in NC.  Good luck!
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    Dr.LorettaDr.Loretta member

    imageCaptainSerious:
    I think your best bet for a quick answer would be to consult with an adoption attorney or an agency based in NC.  Good luck!

    ^This. I think in this case, the easiest thing to do would be to contact an agency or law firm in NC and ask them how it works. They've likely dealt with the question, so they should be able to provide a quick answer.

    Good luck.

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    TiffanyBlue927TiffanyBlue927
    Thanks ladies, I am working with an attorney and had posed the question to her earlier today via e-mail....I am just really impatient and was hoping for a quick answer here!!! I appreciate you taking the time to answer! I will just await my attorney's e-mail for now!!! Thanks again!Smile
    WHAT'S IN MY CAMERA BAG: Canon 40D, 50 mm 1.8 prime and not much else yet! Learning to edit with PSE 8 AND LR 3. My real name isn't Tiffany, and I'm a photography newbie! Lilypie Second Birthday tickers Image and video hosting by TinyPic
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    Dr.LorettaDr.Loretta member

    imageTiffanyBlue927:
    Thanks ladies, I am working with an attorney and had posed the question to her earlier today via e-mail....I am just really impatient and was hoping for a quick answer here!!! I appreciate you taking the time to answer! I will just await my attorney's e-mail for now!!! Thanks again!Smile

    Bummer! I hate it when they don't get back to you right away. Let us know what you hear.

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    jacksjerseygirljacksjerseygirl member

    This is actually one of the reasons we did end up working with an agency that had a great legal department. Since we did not want to limit ourselves to just the state we live in and we wanted to be open to all states (thereby decreasing our wait period) we wanted to make sure that the legal aspects would be taken care of.

    By the time you pay an attorney to research multiple states and so forth - it can add up to what you might have paid with an agency.

    That being said, I know that while my agency works with all states for BMs - we can not adopt from all states because of state rules. Some situations are not available to us for that reason.

    I believe that we are not able to work with NC or our agency chooses for us not to based on additional costs burden or other reasons. But I can't give you a legal opinion.

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    TTCgradstudTTCgradstud

    I don't know if this would be the same thing, but we almost adopted a baby born in Ohio- and they would have required that we return to OH to finalize the adoption in court there. So we were working with our agency, an agency (facilitator) and two lawyer in that state. 

    When you find out the answer, would you please share, I'm interested too. 

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    TiffanyBlue927TiffanyBlue927
    Thanks for the comments! Jacks...my attorney's office only does adoption and reproductive law so she and her team have that research covered. We do have to decide which states we are going to work with and do a search on our own, she does not find situations for us, but she can represent us in many states and has resources available to us if we match in a state she can not work with. Before I became more knowledgeable about adoption, I asked my personal attorney if he handled adoptions ( I use him for real estate etc....) and he had no idea where to begin. My adoption attorney's practice is specifically for family building. Just an aside: After my retainer was paid, I have not incurred any cost for e-mailing and questions.I am aware that there are issues with the law, state by state, but I am not sure if NC is specifically problematic for out of state residents.
    WHAT'S IN MY CAMERA BAG: Canon 40D, 50 mm 1.8 prime and not much else yet! Learning to edit with PSE 8 AND LR 3. My real name isn't Tiffany, and I'm a photography newbie! Lilypie Second Birthday tickers Image and video hosting by TinyPic
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    Jas*sGirlJas*sGirl

    Here is a quick at a glance type spreadsheet.  It looks like you have to be a resident of NC to adopt in that state.  It sounds like you have the ball rolling with your adoption lawywer so maybe she will have some more ideas on this.  Good Luck!

     

    https://www.theadoptionguide.com/files/StateAdoptionLaws.pdf

     

     

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    TiffanyBlue927TiffanyBlue927
    Still waiting for answer, but I will be happy to share when I find out! Smile
    WHAT'S IN MY CAMERA BAG: Canon 40D, 50 mm 1.8 prime and not much else yet! Learning to edit with PSE 8 AND LR 3. My real name isn't Tiffany, and I'm a photography newbie! Lilypie Second Birthday tickers Image and video hosting by TinyPic
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    TiffanyBlue927TiffanyBlue927
    Thank you! That does seem to suggest that you must reside in NC to adopt there.I am disappointed as my brother is very active in his church community there and I would love to have my match come from that connection...when I find out the details from my atty. I will update everyone. Thanks!!!
    WHAT'S IN MY CAMERA BAG: Canon 40D, 50 mm 1.8 prime and not much else yet! Learning to edit with PSE 8 AND LR 3. My real name isn't Tiffany, and I'm a photography newbie! Lilypie Second Birthday tickers Image and video hosting by TinyPic
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