| First off, while it's your choice of name, of course--that's a name that will NOT be appreciated by the child. Believe me, I worked in a college admissions office, and those people whose names were descriptive phrases pretty much hated it. Plus, you're giving her an unusual first name on top of that--I mean seriously, how would you like it if your name was something like May Bea or February Valentine?
Secondly, you may be able to do it without lawyers, but I wouldn't recommend it. You HAVE to go to court for this. You need to make sure that the adoption papers are in order, that the birthmother has had all of her legal rights COMPLETELY explained to her, and make sure that she understands this is forever. You need to make sure that basically all of your i's are dotted and your t's crossed--and that's hard to do without a lawyer.
If you really MUST do it without a lawyer, I would call your local family court and find out what paperwork must be filed for a relinquishment of parental rights and then for an adoption. |