Finalization Drama

We are moving in a week and a half, and did not realize what a big deal it would be to take Malachi with us. Adoption laws differ in every state, but in Virginia, you have to wait 6 months from the time of placement (not birth) before you can file in the courts for finalization of the adoption. Since our placement happened on December 2, we cannot file until June 2. No big deal, right? Well, the problem is, we are moving across the country to Washington state and will not have residence in Virginia. After talking to a lawyer who was amazing and called all kinds of people from state offices to the local courts, we found out that Virginia will not let us finalize here. Instead, we will have to file in Washington for permanent custody of Malachi. OK, no big deal. Well, apparently, we also have to file some paperwork for interstate placement or we could be charged with kidnapping! Yikes! Needless to say, we are getting right on that and should be good to go by the time the movers come.

The good news is that Washington does not have a 6-month post-placement requirement before filing, so I have already contacted a lawyer there who has started the process for us already. As soon as we get there, we can get everything signed and hopefully file in the courts as soon as possible. And the wait time in WA is only about 2 months, versus up to 6 months in VA.

Apparently adoption isn't quite as easy all the time as I had hoped. I'm not sure exactly what we are called right now - we're not foster parents, technically, but Malachi is still considered a ward of the state. We do not have a birth certificate or social security number for him (and won't have that until everything goes through the courts). This also means that our vacation planning to Vancouver and the rest of British Columbia this summer has come to a halt, as you must have a passport to travel to Canada, and to get a passport you must have a birth certificate, even if you're only 4 months old. *Big sigh* Oh well - there's always next year, right? And who knows? We may have Malachi's birth certificate by August!

FYI - I've decided to try to update the blog more frequently, so the goal is that every Monday I'll get on and post something. But I don't want to bore people, so if I can't think of anything to say, I won't. And here are some of Malachi's first Easter pictures.