Adoption process

Good day!

I have a step daughter, my wife has a daughter before we got married. now im planning to adopt this child legally for her to use my family name because currently she is using the surname of my wife when she is single. What will be the process & how long it will take & any estimate amount of cost that will needed, my stepdaughter is 10 yrs old now.

Thank you very much.

both of you will have to adopt jointly so she becomes the legitimate child of your both.

where is the father?

cost depends on which lawyer you retain. 50 -100k is not unheard of.

what is more efficient to do, to show that the biological father will give consent or as if we do not have any contact on her biological father?
and the first thing to do here is to go the lawyer and for him to process the adoption paper?
thank you.

May i know also what are the needed requirements for this process?

Thank you very much.

if you can get the consent, it will be better, but you can still allege abandonment if it cannot be acquired.

here is the rule on Domestic Adoption so you can have an idea:http://elibrary.judiciary.gov.ph/index6.php?doctype=Amendments%20to%20the%20Rules%20Of%20Court&docid=a45475a11ec72b843d74959b60fd7bd64564763672711

the process really begins with putting together the docu requirements:

1. Authenticated birth certificate
2. Marriage Contract or Divorce, Annulment, Declaration of Nullity, or Legal Separation documents;
3. Written consent to the adoption by the legitimate and adopted sons/daughters, and illegitimate sons/daughters if living with the applicant, who are at least ten (10) years old;
4. Physical and medical evaluation by a duly licensed physician and psychological evaluation by a psychologist;
5. NBI/Police Clearance
6. Latest income tax return or any other documents showing financial capability, e.g. Certificate of Employment, Bank Certificate or Statement of Assets and Liabilities;
7. Three (3) character references, namely from the local church/minister, the employer, and a non-relative member of the immediate community who have known the applicant(s) for at least three (3) years;
8. 3x5 sized pictures of the applicant(s) and his/her immediate family taken within the last three (3) months;
9. Certificate of attendance to pre-adoption fora or seminars.

Good day!
If we prepare all the requirements we will go then to a lawyer for him to process the application for adoption or there can be other option for us to reduce the cost for the attorney's fee if go were the one to file the other documents, because if it will go around 25k to 50k that will be a big money also, where in fact the intention was very musch favor for my step daughter.
Thank you very much for your warm reply for my question.

you will need a lawyer. cost will depend which one you retain.

attyLLL wrote:if you can get the consent, it will be better, but you can still allege abandonment if it cannot be acquired.

here is the rule on Domestic Adoption so you can have an idea:http://elibrary.judiciary.gov.ph/index6.php?doctype=Amendments%20to%20the%20Rules%20Of%20Court&docid=a45475a11ec72b843d74959b60fd7bd64564763672711

the process really begins with putting together the docu requirements:

1. Authenticated birth certificate
2. Marriage Contract or Divorce, Annulment, Declaration of Nullity, or Legal Separation documents;
3. Written consent to the adoption by the legitimate and adopted sons/daughters, and illegitimate sons/daughters if living with the applicant, who are at least ten (10) years old;
4. Physical and medical evaluation by a duly licensed physician and psychological evaluation by a psychologist;
5. NBI/Police Clearance
6. Latest income tax return or any other documents showing financial capability, e.g. Certificate of Employment, Bank Certificate or Statement of Assets and Liabilities;
7. Three (3) character references, namely from the local church/minister, the employer, and a non-relative member of the immediate community who have known the applicant(s) for at least three (3) years;
8. 3x5 sized pictures of the applicant(s) and his/her immediate family taken within the last three (3) months;
9. Certificate of attendance to pre-adoption fora or seminars.

Hi Attorney,

Is there a specific time frame before a child can be considered abandoned?

Thanks and Best Regards,
>Scared and Scarred Mommy

the dswd needs to be the one declare the child as abandoned.