I just want to give everyone who is on here asking questions and seeking advice about a step parent adoption some words of encouragement and hope.

I was on this forum asking questions a few months back about step parent adoptions and the process so that my husband and I can do it ourselves and not spend thousands on an attorney. Well the answers we got were not helpful at all, in fact they were rude and rather discouraging. We got a bunch of "what if" scenarios thrown at us, told to spend the money on an attorney and that we had a less than 20% chance of our adoption going through without a lawyer(this question/thread can still be read too since its still up)

Well I want to let everyone know that we did go through with the step parent adoption, filed it in August WITHOUT an attorney and it was approved, signed and finalized this week!! We filled out the adoption papers needed, provided them with the copies of the birth certificate, marriage license, health documents and everything else they requested, the court assigned our daughter a lawyer who came to the house to speak to us and her and then we were contacted by the department of social services for our home study. We spent $16 all together and that was for a copy of my husbands divorce decree from his previous marriage & the fingerprinting which was $10(we already had a copy of her birth certificate and our marriage license so did not need to spend money on that)

A long story short, WE DID IT! Without an attorney, spending thousands or anything else! It was a very easy, smooth and surprisingly quick process(Aug-Nov) and we couldn't be any happier. I am glad we went through with it ourselves & saved ourselves the money and headache of having to go through a lawyer which I am sure would have been more stressful then the way we did it. I am not saying this will work out for everyone, I am saying that it does not hurt to try first!

Your record only shows you as having one post. Also how is it that you were able to remove the bio fathers rights? Did you attempt to notify him first?

Sorry, did not realize I used a new user name for this post. The link to my other post is below:
https://www.askmehelpdesk.com/advice/t-681208.html

I did notify the bio father regarding the adoption and he consented. He signed & notarized not only the termination of parental rights but also the consent to the adoption and that was all we needed from him.

I reviewed the earlier thread and don't see anything rude there. All strongly suggested you use an attorney's services, so that must have been the discouraging part for you. I'm glad you obtained the bio-father's consent. I hope all goes well from here on.

Looks like you have gotten lucky. And lets hope nothing was missed in case he changes his mind later. Congratulations on the adoption.

How much was the fee in your state for a lawyer with all parties consenting and coperating to the adoption ?

The only rudeness I've seen is from you. I also reviewed the other thread and can't find anything but helpful advice. Our experience tells us that trying to do an adoption without an attorney is asking for trouble. Is it possible? Yes it is. In fact, two of the responses you received pointed you to a site to find the documents you would need to submit. How was that not helpful? Did you use that site?

The key in your situation was the consent of the bio father. With that the process became a lot easier.

I'm glad it worked out for you and I'm glad you returned to let us know what happened. But to categorize the respoinse you got as rude was clearly out of line as anyone can see. And to say we were not helpful is inaccurate.

I have to ask whether you ever priced what an attorney would cost. You claim it would have been "thousands", I would estimate it would have been less than that.

Bottom line here is that you do other people a disservice by suggesting an attorney is not necessary. Yes its possible, but there are dangers if it isn't done properly.

Congratulations. I am of the opinion that a reasonably intelligent person such as you seem to be, if the proper research is done, can do something like this without an attorney. The thing is that we have questions on this forum from people who obviously are barely able to tie their shoes. That is one reason you were cautioned against trying it pro se.

The only real reason it worked was because the parent agreed and signed for the adoption.
Often this is not the case. Also many people in trying to save a few 1000 dollars, file wrong forms and waste time and money. Also filed incorrect, issues in latter years challenge the adoption could be possible.