How to Legally Adopt a Stepchild
You love your family, and you love the life you are creating together. Now it's time to move one step further and show your commitment by adopting your stepchild and providing the emotional and physical support needed. While this is an exciting time in your family's life, there are several things to know before you begin the legal process of adopting a stepchild. These include the following nine parts of any adoption process.
1. Determine if Adoption is the Right Path to Take in Your Particular Situation
The internet is full of videos of happy moments shared between newly adopted stepchildren and their parents. While these may bring tears of joy to your eyes, it's important to determine the type of path that is right for your family and particular situation.
The biggest factor to determine is whether everyone involved -- you, your spouse, stepchild, and other family members -- are emotionally ready to take this next step. A few things to know beforehand include:
- Adopting a step child means accepting full, legal responsibility for that child.
- With the adoption, the step child severs the legal relationship with his or her parents, which may be desired or considered a necessary step for what's best for the child.
- Adoption assures a legal binding between a stepchild and stepparent in the instance that the birth parent falls ill or passes away.
2. Select an Experienced Attorney for Step Child Adoption
While you may be determined to represent yourself in the adoption, the benefit of selecting an experienced legal professional, like a Los Angeles lawyer for adopting stepparents, can greatly simplify the overall process as well as provide peace of mind. You can stay focused on emotionally supporting your family throughout the process, and your attorney will navigate the legal channels to accomplish your goal. If you believe the parent may decide to contest the adoption, you can seek advice to best prepare for the conversation that will be held.
3. Obtain Parental Permission
Now that you plan to become the legal parent of your stepchild, you will first need to obtain consent or a waiver of rights from the noncustodial parent. This shows that the parent understands that his or her rights concerning the child will be terminated. This consent or waiver of rights will usually be required in written form, and in some states, a court appearance may be necessary.
While hoping this will be an easy step, a parent who has given indications that they will give up parental rights may have second thoughts when actually asked to make it legal. This doesn't mean adoption won't happen, but it is another reason to have an experienced attorney for family law on your side.
If consent is difficult to obtain, there are steps you can take to keep the adoption moving forward. Attorneys designated for adoptive parents will know the best ways to proceed and can potentially have the noncustodial parent's rights legally terminated. This will require an examination of parental involvement with the child and whether he or she is still fit to maintain legal positioning as the child's parent. In some instances, a family law attorney in Los Angeles may be needed, so don't hesitate to reach out to one. In some states, you may need to obtain the child's consent to adoption as well. This is usually based on age and usually falls between ages 10 and 14.
4. Start the Legal Procedure by Filing a Petition to Adopt
To alert the court to your intentions, you will first need to file a petition to adopt. If you are proceeding on your own, identify the local court system that oversees stepchild adoptions. Contact the court and request information on where to find the required stepchild adoption paperwork and if that particular court will allow you to represent yourself. Not all courts do, so this is something you need to confirm. If it's not allowed, consider hiring a legal professional. The petition to adopt usually asks for background information on both you and your spouse. You both will also need to submit authorization for a criminal history background check.
5. Prepare for a Court Hearing
Expect to appear for a court hearing, regardless of whether consent to adopt is granted and there are no contests to the adoption. The judge will expect to hear your desire and request to adopt your stepchild. In some instances, the child may be asked to voice their stance regarding the family merge. This usually depends on his or her age.
6. Apply for an Amended Birth Certificate
Once the adoption has been granted, and all steps have been finalized, your name will be added to the amended birth certificate as the parent of the child. If the child's name is to also be changed, this should be done at this time. Be sure to keep copies of the original birth certificate in case the need arises in the future to provide it.
7. Consider Additional Legal Steps Per Your Particular State
Each state may have additional legal steps that must be taken during the adoption process. For example, some states require a home study to determine if the home environment is suitable for children. In other states, such as Alabama, you must show that the parent and stepparent have been married for a year before the adoption process is started. Still, in other states, the judge may request you name a Guardian Ad Litem to make sure the best interests of the stepchild are considered.
8. Budget for Associated Fees
While the expenses involved in stepchild adoption are not as high as in the regular adoption process, there will be required fees to consider and budget for. Adoption of a stepchild is a shorter process, and the child is most likely already acclimated to the home life with the parents, so this leads to lower costs overall. However, you will be responsible for court fees and any fees relating to attorney assistance.
9. Know that Support is Available to Help You Succeed
While you may feel like this is a solo process, there are numerous resources and people available to help you through it all. Start with your family and friends. Tell them about your desire to adopt and share with them your emotional highs and lows. They can provide emotional support along the way. Also, seek out those who have gone through the experience themselves and see what worked for them. This can be family, friends, or others you learn about online who can offer assistance and answers to questions. You can join online forums, seek out guides and resources if you’d like more community-based support.
Soon you'll be able to continue bonding with your new child and settling into your family commitments with ease and joy. If you're currently considering adoption or have already started the process and need legal advice, consider reaching out to our team at Burns Attorneys.
By doing so, you can ease the way forward and concentrate on what matters most – your child. If you aren’t looking for help with matters related to your stepchild, we can also help with:
- Protection orders
- Child visitation
- Child support
- Spousal support
- Nursing home abuse
- Trust and probate