Question:

I'm from Fort Greely Delta Junction. I would like to know if I can get help adopting my stepdaughter. I'm from Puerto Rico, I already talk to a lawyer from Puerto Rico and he told me that I can start the process here because my stepdaughter had been out of Puerto Rico for more than 6 month. And the biological father wants to voluntary release his parental rights. I talk to the JAG representative from here and he told me that he doesn't have any experience on adoption that is why I'm contacting you.

Jim's Reply:

You have such a complex situation that the best we can do is to tell you to return to that JAG officer and ask for some better direction than what you got. If you're stationed in Alaska and the dependent child is with you and the dependent child is a native of Puerto Rico, you may need a civilian lawyer in her place of origin to guide the process. You may want to consider waiting until your next assignment takes you to a more populous base than the limited resources available at Ft. Greeley.

• PS from StatesideLegal:  You can also use the "Find Legal Help" map to look for a legal aid provider or LRS resource in Alaska that might be able to provide you with guidance on how to proceed with this adoption.