Today I received a disturbing call from a woman from Kharkov (Helen) who works with an American single middle-aged woman ("adopter"). The adopter decided to adopt a young child because her own children didn't want her in their lives and didn't allow her to see her grandchildren. She ended up adopting two siblings from Russia (a boy age 7 and a girl 6 y.o.) through some adopting agency from West Coast. A week (!) after bringing the adopted children to New York, the adopter realized that she "made a mistake" and that she no longer wants them to be in her life. The adoption agency recommended the adopter to bring these children to the West Coast so children could be placed in a foster home while the agency would be looking for a new family for these children. However, the adopter refused to spend any money for travel. After listening to the adopter, Helen (a mother of 3 children herself) became increasingly worried for well-being of these children so her husband and she started visiting these children on weekdays and weekends. They became very attached to them and decided to look for legal ways to obtain custody of these children. The adopter is happy with Helen's decision and is ready to sign any and all paperwork as soon as it is ready. Helen and her husband don't have money to hire an attorney and are looking for an attorney who will help them pro bono.
Needless to say, I offered to assist her with whatever I can. I have never dealt with these type of proceedings and would not even know where to start. Those of you who have handled similar matters in the past and would like to take this case, i will gladly pass it on. If nobody is interested, i would appreciate if you can share forms with me and give me some guidance with procedures. I greatly appreciate any assistance.
I remember a while ago a discussion was going on about an American woman changing her mind after adopting a boy from Russia, well, this goes even further, she brought two kids and about to abandon both of them.