Finalization

Alex’s adoption became final on December 2! Here’s what we’ve done since we arrived back home on July 4 to get to this point.

• Our social worker visited our home on August 31 for our first post-placement review. Based on that visit, the social worker wrote a report to submit to the legal specialist at our agency, Children’s Home Society and Family Services (CHSFS). The legal specialist then prepared documents to send to the state to begin the finalization process.
• We had to complete and have notarized two legal documents to submit to the state. The documents are the Petition for Adoption and Findings of Fact, Conclusions of Law, Order for Judgment, and Adoption Decree.
• By mid-October, all of the paperwork was sent to the State of Minnesota Juvenile Court for processing. Around the second week of November, we received word that the paperwork had been completed at the court and we took the first available date of December 2 to schedule the finalization hearing in front of a judge at the State of Minnesota District Court.
• We had our hearing before the judge on December 2.
• After the hearing, we ordered an official birth certificate and decree of adoption for Alex. Since Alex was born abroad and adopted, he will receive a Minnesota birth certificate.
• As of December 2, Alex became an official US citizen by law but there are a few more steps for us to obtain proof of citizenship for him.
  1. Apply for a US Passport. The Passport is needed as proof of citizenship in order to obtain a social security number. (A Certificate of Citizenship can also be used as documentation for a SSN but it is costly and takes up to 8 months to process.) Therefore, a passport is the quickest way to get the SSN.
  2. Apply for a social security number.
  3. Apply for a Certificate of Citizenship.
  - Grant
  

(And now for Anna’s take on things….)
When we arrived back in the US with Alex the last thing I wanted to think about was more paperwork. Grant has been wonderful taking care of all the details, making the necessary phone calls and filling out and submitting paperwork to finalize the adoption

I wasn’t sure what to expect at court yesterday. Since it was juvenile court, each court room is private so it was only the judge, the court reporter, another worker, and the three of us. The judge asked several preliminary questions (DOB and marriage, place of marriage, current residence) but then he also asked us if we commit to taking care of Alex and raising him and being responsible for him until he is 18 or until the age of maturity. “YES!” The judge must have had our entire adoption file because after asking the initial questions he asked us a few personal questions which made us realize that he must have reviewed our paperwork.

Alex was pretty quiet during the Q&A period (other than hitting table) but then when we took some pictures and started talking more casually to the judge and other court workers, Mr. Personality came out.

After we left the court in Minneapolis we drove to St. Paul to celebrate at Fasika, which is now our favorite Ethiopian restaurant. Alex had his first few bites of Injera! It was a great day and a wonderful experience.

Thanks again for being part of this journey with us!
Anna