What charges will be filed against an adoptive mother who will abandon adoptive son for threatening her with a deadly weapon?

Rather than opening yourself up to child abandonment or endangerment charges you should consider filing a criminal complaint for assault with a deadly weapon against the adopted son on behalf of yourself and your other son. I can't imagine that the authorities would house the perpetrator in the home of the parties he is alleged to have assaulted. If you opt to refuse to let him live in the home without the criminal charges you could be opening yourself up to all sorts of child welfare involvement in yours and your other son's life.

It is always a tough call when a child, adopted or otherwise, threatens or frightens a parent. The parents are in a bad spot because they are legally bound to care for the very person who threatens them.

Generally, using the law as both a shield and a sword, the Mother should file charges for domestic battery or aggravated domestic battery, as the State sees fit, against the child. The child will then be assessed and needed treatment may be offered.

If abandonment has already occurred, DCF may get involved and perform an investigation. The standard is always what is in the best interests of the child and that means all the children under the care of the parent being investigated. I cannot guess how that might play out.

It is a shame that there really are no services to offer families in distress and who are indigent unless and until the legal system gets involved, and even then the services are often inadequate, slow in coming, and sometimes place even more burdens on the people they are meant to assist.

So, I cannot answer this question directly. All I can offer is that anyone who feels threatened by violence should do what is necessary to protect themselves without causing additional harm. If that threatening person is your obligation as well, then you need to do it all "by the book" to protect yourself as well as them.

I suggest calling legal aid in your area or the police IF the child returns and continues to threaten. I wish you all the best of luck with this situation.