In the state of Texas, relinquishment papers cannot be signed for Baby P until 48 hours after his birth. Our case workers will be at the hospital during this time to facilitate this whole process. Baby P's birth mom will sign her relinquishment papers at this time, then Ben and I will complete a short round of paperwork for Baby P to be placed with us in our home before we leave the hospital. Then the finalization begins... The state of Texas will not finalize an adoption until 6 months after Baby P has been placed in our home. During those 6 months, we will send reports and pictures to our case workers on Baby P's progress (one report each month). We will also have two post-placement visits with a caseworker in our home (one immediately after we get settled, and the other at the 5 month mark). When we hit 6 months, our finalization paperwork will be filed in San Antonio where we will appear in court on a Monday morning for approximately 10 minutes. At that point, the court will declare sweet Baby P to be in our FORVER family...hallelujah!!!!
It truly is a remarkable process...one that protects Baby P's rights, mine and Ben's rights, as well as the birth family rights. And...because I know some people are wondering... No, after the 48 hour relinquishment period, there is no way that the birth family can come back and change their minds or reverse their decision. I think that this would be so much easier on them because I cannot imagine going back and forth in my mind for a 6 month period until finalization. Not every state does it this way, but thankfully our great state of Texas is making this process as smooth as possible for all parties involved.
Thank you for your continued prayers - please continue to lift up our precious baby boy, S, and S's entire family. We'll keep you posted...
12 comments:
It's very interesting how the laws are different between Texas and Oklahoma. I had figured something was different, just because I have followed so many bloggers doing domestic adoption.
In OK, the papers have to be signed in front of a judge. It has to be at least 48 hours after delivery. This makes it super tricky because it is hard to get a courtdate quickly.
This means that with our first, we had him in our home (in our hearts!) for 10 days before his bmom went to court. With our second, whew, it was one month! With Sadie, it was 2 weeks. We've learned in this time to just not stress and trust that God is in control...but it sure would be nice if we didn't have this lag time!
Hmmm, wonder why us Okies have these silly laws?
Oh wow, Molly...that is interesting! Thanks for sharing =) I can't even imagine the emotions you all went through during that lag time... how hard (but how WONDERFUL in the very end!!)!
I've been meaning to ask you, what hospital is your husband at in OK? My dad is a pediatrician... he did his residency there at Mercy Hospital (where I was born), then went into private practice and sat on faculty for OU. We moved to TX in 1989... small world! Just wondering =)
have you seen the sight HELPUSADOPT.ORG ?
seems like a great web site.
hi holly. it is amy whitmire from baylor. i have been following your blog and it is such an amazing story! praying for a safe delivery and for your new life as parents! it is amazing!
We are praying here that he comes soon!
Hey Holly! I know...I didn't realize Texas laws leaned so much more in protecting the adoptive parents, whereas ours lean more towards protecting birthparents and almost making it more difficult for them to place. My husband even said there was something in TX laws about 72 hours to decide??? Here, they can drag it out as long as they want... I will have to email you sometime...it's not a story I want the world to know...but it's interesting to say the least!
Okay, the reason for this comment was to answer your question. He's in residency at OU! How funny! Even though he is an employee of OU, he does a lot of service at other hospitals in the OKC area. We live really close to Mercy! Small world!
My email is holpeterson@gmail.com... I'd love to hear your story! =)
What great info- I'm going to pass it on to a friend!! I you guys and Baby P need a place to stay before your court date, I'd love to have you!!!
Hey Holly,
You do a beautiful job describing all the legal "stuff"!! AND Texas has GREAT adoption laws! Go Texas! We are so excited to hear about your little guy's arrival & continue to lift up you guys and your birthfamily!
Can't wait,
Kristin & Anthony
I am so excited for you and Ben! What great news and can't wait to hear all about Baby P and see him soon.
You are in our prayers!
God bless your family,
Esther White
Your friend Jamie Mullins sent me your blog, and it is soo inspiring! God has blessed you in so many ways and with your new little one joining your family you will feel love like no other! I have 2 kids and there is NOTHING better than having them in my life! I will keep you in my prayers for a long and happy life with your new family! God Bless!
Stacy Kruse
Post a Comment