I Need Help Finding Legal and Health Services for My Upcoming Adoption

Read your other thread http://www.mamasource.com/request/11866274541074382849 for some info.

Also, since this is a kinship situation, you could--for the time being--instead grant your aunt & uncle guardianship over the baby. You can fill out a form from Staples or use one online like the ones below, have it notarized and y'all are in business. Some states might require full/long-term guardianship be managed and reviewed by the courts but until you get the adoption finalized, the notarized form will do.

"A guardianship of a child takes away the parents' right to make decisions about their child's life. However, it does not permanently terminate parental rights. This means that although the guardian now has custody and is responsible for raising the child, the parents are still the child's legal parents."

Use a form like
http://www.unserhafen.org/LibraryFiles/GuardianConsentFor...
or
http://www.courttv.com/archive/legalcafe/family/nanny/gua...

Wow...don't you just wish sometimes you could get a clean answer to your questions rather than a ton of unasked for opinions? Well, we do live in the human world, don't we... I don't know the answer to your question, but I just want to give you a (((hug))) after reading so many of these responses. Good luck to you and your family. I wish you all the best!

Check with the law library in downtown SLC about legal help. Be careful about filing restraining orders. I was advised once that people who receive them tend to lash out where they otherwise might not. Good advice.

You might check with family practice lawywers. A lot of them offer a free consultation. They will let you know what you are looking at as far as paperwork and legal fees.
I believe there are also some adoption places that help you with the paperwork when it is within a family.

Check on the net as well. I wish you the best of luck. You are a wonderful, thoughtful caring person. Don't ever let anyone tell you differently. You are doing a wonderful thing having your family adopt your baby. You will always be close and you are making a huge difference in your aunt and ucle's lives. I am proud of you.

Dear T.,

Congratulations on finding someone who will love your baby as much as you do. You may be able to find help at your local Catholic Church (you don't have to be Catholic). With the church's anti-abortion stand, they do a lot of work in adoptive services. Good Luck

Although I do not have any advice for the legal or medical aspect I would like to give you a big hug from across the miles. Your choice to give up your baby takes a lot of love and strength. Your aunt and uncle are very lucky to have you in thier lives.

i don't know how it is exactly in your state but i would start searching for info through your local foster care/adoption org through the dept. of public health and human services.they should be able to hook you up with the people who can help you. there are time limits and waiting periods from what i understand. like i believe there is a 48 hour period after the baby is born for you to wait and then sign away custody of your baby. some times women change their minds after the birth and these safeguards protect against unecessary legal problems. i will keep you in my prayers. this really seems like a hard decision and i hope that you come out feeling positive about it all in the end. this is exactly what happened with one of my good friends. she was adopted by her mothers aunt and uncle for reasons that sound similar to yours. take care, N.

I am happy you are doing what is right for your family. Every family has its issues and complications. God Bless your family.

I believe you can look up your states adoption and custody paperwork online. If the adoption goes uncontested, I believe that is the easiest (cheapest) route. You would only have court and filing fees.

I too do not qualify for state medical assistance, but try CIHC. They will give you places to go that will give you free medical care. Or call 211 for other financial help. Can you believe I am on Social Security and do not qualify for most state services in Colorado?
Good luck

I don't know where you are located, but if you go to http://www.legalaidsocietyofsaltlake.org/ they may either know lawyers looking for Pro Bono or could tell you what paperwork to file yourself. They also could tell you about Waine's clinic. It is in SLC on some Tuesdays and you can ask him a bunch of legal questions. For insurance I would look into CHIP (through the state) and see if they will cover the babies ecpenses once born and for the birth. You could also check with IHC and see if you have a baby at one of their hospitals if they can help you with some because they are a non-profit organization. I hope this helps. Also, I don't know if any of you are LDS, but if you are, or if you are not (I don't think you have to be) you can go to LDS Family Services and see if they can help you. It is usually much cheaper through them.

I know very little about adoption, but I am a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, the LDS church, also known as the Mormon's. I know that LDS family services offers adoption services that are free of charge for both the birth parents and the adopting parents. This service I think is usually offered for unmarried mothers-to-be, but may possibly be helpful in your situation as well.

I just wanted to say that I think what you are doing is the greatest gift a mother can give her child. If you are in a situation where you can't provide for or take care of him, placing him with your aunt and uncle is a wonderful thing. You are extremely brave and courageous. I wish you all the luck in the world.

You are doing a very wonderful thing Tosha. Having the true knowledge that you cannot take this child and keep it as your own but want to place it with someone who so badly wants to have a child is such a great gift. IGNORE that woman chastising you for your choices. More people should really think before they choose to keep a child that they know will have a better life somewhere else. I can say though, if it is because you are worried about the biological father, then please be assured that he would never get any time of visitation or custody if he has a criminal background of molesting children, he would never win. If it is a constant reminder to you of a mistake made then I cannot say I have ever been in your shoes and cannot judge.
You have your hands full with two very young boys and you know at their age, they won't even remember and I am sure as they get older will understand as you explain it to them on an age level they will grasp later on.
Call your local state and city govt offices. Ask someone in child services to help you out. There are a lot of attys out there that will lend you a hand and help you through the process.
Making the choices you have made are huge, nobody I can say understands unless they walk in your shoes. Please pray and have faith that God will help you through it all.
Good luck and keep us posted.

Hi Tosha,
As an adoptive Mom I can tell you what a gift you are giving your Aunt and Uncle. As for legal assistance I am not to up to date on Utah laws but I know they are very Adoption friendly. I am not sure why you do not qualify for assistance but there are ways around it. Usually county hospitals have assistance programs to help with the birth costs. I am sending you a link that will hopefully help you out on your search. The only issue I can see is that your Aunt and Uncle will likely need to have a home study done and that is a long process. Utah does not have direct placement so there is really no other way around it for them to legaly adopt. You can give them guardianship until that is all done. Your best bet is to browse the link I sent and make a call or two to some Quad A adoption Lawyers. If you need any other help please feel free to email me!

http://laws.adoption.com/statutes/utah-adoption-laws.html

www.abcadoptions.com is also a good link to look info up on

Tosha,

God bless you for not having an abortion. I am sorry these other women have forgotten about other children in the Bible being given to others to raise them. Like Mosses being raised by the Pharoh's daughter until God called him, or Samual being reared by Eli after he was wheened from his mother's milk. YOU ARE A BRAVE AND SMAART WOMEN!!! None of us have walked in your shoes so we can not say how you should act or how we would even act.

I am sorry I do not know anything about the law in your state, but maybe you could call the University and ask for the legal department and see if they can recommend any pro-bono attorneys.

As for the health insurance call your insurance agent. If they can not help you they should be able to referr you to someone. There are some good companies you can contact on line also. I am an agent in Colorado. If you want to email me on the side than I can give you more tips.

God Bless you, and your family.

J.

I feel I need to clarify my thoughts on this request. First of all, this forum (Mamasource) is for women to offer their opinions on issues. I don't think it is fair for anyone to berate anothers' opinions and feelings. Tosha, your situation sounds very complex and heartbreaking. I too praise you for not having an abortion. I hope that you can make it through the birth and subsequent adoption of your child as painlessly as possible. I only said that I wished you would reconsider your choice of adoption because of your own distress down the line; PRAY, PRAY, PRAY for guidance.

I don't know anything about the legal issue but if you live in Colorado the hospital itself has options you can apply for. Have you tried to apply for the CICP program? If you don't qualify for Medicaid, which it sounds like you do not, then you can apply for this help. Some physicians are on the program but most are not. But at least it could help with the largest bill which is the hospital. Call your local hospital for information and information on what is available they are a huge resourse of where to apply for funding for medical bills. Hope this helps and what a wonderful, and hard decision you are making. Good luck!!

State assistance cannot turn you away, I thought. With one of my babies, I had no insurance, but made more than most. So they had me pay a one time fee and I was able to receive insurance for my pregnancy and the first year of the babies life.

I am sorry that you are having to make this decision, I can only imagine what you have been through to make this decision! But good luck and you are very courageous for your kind actions.

Healthcare is an easy answer. Depending on where you live there are healthcare providers that see patients without insurance. Clinica Campesina, MCPN, Salud, Denver Health, and others. They will do an income assessment and place you or them on a financial payment arrangement based on your income. Clinica Campesina is up North (3 locations), MCPN is Aurora and southeast Denver (i think), and Denver Health is Central Denver. Anyways I used to work with Clinica Campesina and the have very upscale, clean facilities with GREAT provider care.
It is worth a try!
S. S

I am interested in the responses because my cousin is interested in adoption.