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[darvell]

I am going to adopt my sister in laws unborn child she is due in April. I have already contacted a lawyer and I am going to file the paper work. I basically just need to know what I need to have as soon as the baby is born and I leave the hospital with her that gives me the right to make medical decisions and also something so I can sign up for wic. I live in ohio if that helps.

[corcoran42]

You need to do a homestudy before anything. The lawyer should have gone over this with you. However if you need to sign up for WIC, then chances are your homestudy wont be approved. The mother of the child will have custody until the papers are signed. Get ahold of your lawyer to get the proper information. You don't sound ready for this at all.

[edin]

like you other poster said, you first need to get approved by your state to adopt. Your lawyer should guide you thru this and there really is no paperwork for you to file. Your lawyer will do all that. Each state is different on things like this. I would get started immediately because the adoption home study process can take a few weeks to a few months to get done and approved. Plus quite a few thousands of dollars.

[joachim]

The lawyer will go over all legal paperwork with you. Once your sister in law signs the final papers terminating her parental rights, your rights as the adoptive mother will be in place.

[sebastiano]

First off both your sister in law and the father of the child would need to sign over his and her parental rights before you could even attempt to proceed. Here is a law article on termination of parental rights: http://www.danieljensenfamilylaw.com/articles/termination-parental-rights/ You then would have to qualify for the adoption. Here is another article on adoption qualification: http://www.slaterkennon.com/articles/single-parent-adoption/ Are you a single parent household?

[garwyli91]

Your lawyer knows. Unless he or she totally sucks as a lawyer, they should have already told you that they will file for emergency custody the day the child is born.

Keep in mind that you can't pretend that the father isn't involved in this. Unless you can show an arrest for prostitution, you have to produce some guy whose DNA proves that he is the father before you can adopt.

[karlitis]

Your lawyer should be able to help you with this. As others have said, you will need to pass a homestudy prior to getting custody. Part of a homestudy is showing financial stability and that you have adequate income to support a child. If you need to apply for WIC, there is a good chance you will not be approved.