What Is Stepchild Adoption?
Adopting a stepchild is similar to any other type of adoption – you take on the full legal rights and responsibilities of a parent. That means you’re obligated to make sure the child is taken care of and adequately supported. It also means you have a legal say in the child’s rearing, including decisions involving education, extracurricular activities, religious upbringing, medical treatment, and more. If you and your spouse end up separated or divorced, you’ll have the standard suite of parental rights and responsibilities regarding visitation, custody, and child support, exactly like a biological parent would.
Note that each child can have a maximum of 2 legal parents. In order for you to adopt your stepchild, the child’s other biological parent will have to give up custody and all parental rights.
The Stepchild Adoption Process In California
The process for adopting a stepchild varies from county to county in California. The process usually starts when you file a Stepparent Adoption Request at the local county adoption office. Your local adoption office will conduct an investigation into your case and prepare a report for the judge in charge of the adoption.
One of the most complicated aspects of a stepchild adoption is dealing with the parent who is losing their parental rights. In some cases, he or she may give voluntary consent to the adoption and the termination of his or her parental rights. It may be that he or she has no interest in the child or recognizes that an adoption is better for everyone involved. If there’s no objection, you and the biological parents will sign consent forms and the process will move forward. The whole thing may take as little as 3-6 months.
In other cases, you may not be able to locate that parent or that parent may refuse to cooperate. In that case, you’ll have to seek a judicial decree (a decision by a judge) to get through the adoption process. If you can’t find the other parent or the other parent refuses to cooperate, the judge will investigate that parent’s relationship will the child and you and the other parent will have the opportunity to present your cases.
In order to get a judicial decree terminating the other parent’s rights, you’ll need to show that the objecting parent shouldn’t have parental rights in the first place. The two most common ways to do that are to show that the other parent is unfit or has abandoned the child. Someone may be considered “unfit” in the eyes of the law if he or she has abused the child, has a drug or alcohol problem, is incarcerated, or has failed to try to see the child. The other parent is considered to have abandoned the child if he or she has failed to provide financial support or visit the child for a significant amount of time. In California, it may take as little as 3 months of failing to provide financial support and as little as 6 months of failing to attempt to visit the child to reach the point of abandonment. Finally, if the other parent is male, you may be able to show that he is not the child’s actual father. In that case, he has no parental rights.
Overall, the judge will consider the child’s best interests and the relevant laws before making a ruling. If you have to seek a judicial decree, the process takes longer than with voluntary consent – sometimes more than a year, depending on the facts of the case.
Adult Adoption
If you want to adopt a stepchild who is already over 18, you can use the adult adoption process. This is easier and faster than adopting a minor – it usually only takes 4-8 weeks and minimal cost. People usually consider adult adoption for inheritance purposes, so you’ll need to consult a family law attorney and your financial advisers about whether adult adoption is the right choice in your situation.
Ready For Stepchild Adoption?
If you and your spouse are considering stepchild adoption, it’s time to talk to a local family law attorney. We can help – our Family Law Attorney Referral Service can connect you to a lawyer near you who can explain your options and help you through the process. Adoption law is complex, especially if the other parent doesn’t want to give up his or her parental rights, and you need an experienced advocate on your side to help you make your case and adopt your child.
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