Stepparent Adoption FAQ’s
Being a parent may be a job that you’re ready to undertake. However, it’s not always as simple as getting pregnant. It’s not uncommon for our new spouse to bring children to marriage in today’s society. Understanding what’s required for you to legally adopt them as a stepparent is essential to the future safety of your new family.
How Hard Is It To Adopt My Spouse’s Birth Children
Any family law attorney Los Angeles will tell you that one of the easiest forms of adoption is when you’re adopting your spouse’s birth children. Traditional adoption requirements, like home visits can be easily eliminated when this type of adoption is applied because there is already a related party living in the home. The biggest challenge that you’re likely to face in this scenario is obtaining the consent for the adoption from the other birth parent.
Do I Need Consent From Both Birth Parents?
Your attorney for step child adoption will reveal the fact that you’ll need to obtain consent from both birth parents. The one fact you need to realize is that you only must obtain consent from parents who have legal parental rights. When adopting a stepchild, you may only need to have the consent of your spouse if the other child’s birth parent has had their parental rights terminated.
Are There Ways To Terminate The Other Parent’s Parental Rights?
When determining how to legally adopt a stepchild, one of your first questions may be if it’s actually possible to terminate the other parent’s parental rights. It’s not uncommon for a step child adoption lawyer Los Angeles to run across a case where the new spouse has taken care of their children and never filed to terminate the other parent’s rights. Your family law attorney Los Angeles can assist you in applying to terminate the other parent’s parental rights.
This can be done based on three different factors. These include abandonment, unfit, or not biologically a parent. The two former reasons are the most popularly used in termination cases. Your attorney for step child adoption can assist you in formulating a case to terminate the other parent’s rights if they determine you have standing to do so.
Can I Adopt If My Spouse And I Are Of The Same Sex?
It’s not uncommon to worry about how to legally adopt a stepchild when you and your new spouse are of the same sex. However, adopting a step child is considered the same process regardless of the gender of you or your parents. The basis for this decision was founded by the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2015 decision in the Obergefell v. Hodges case.
If you’re considering adoption as a stepparent, you should enlist the help of a step child adoption lawyer Los Angeles. They can help to answer all of your questions regarding adoption and file the paperwork for you. It really comes in handy having someone else to handle your case, especially when dealing with another birth parent giving up their parental rights over the child.
