Originally published by Evan Hochschild.
A few weeks ago I was doing consultations with prospective clients of the
Law Office of Bryan Fagan on a Saturday morning when a husband and wife walked in to speak with
us. I came to find out that the wife had two children from her prior marriage
and her current husband was interested in formally
adopting his step children. For all the children out there who don’t have
any parents who take a strong interest in them, I was happy to see that
there were two kids out there that probably have gone through some stressful
times that have two loving parents in their lives.
Make no mistake that this is not a consultation that the attorneys with
the Law Office of Bryan Fagan take on a regular basis. Step parents who
want to and are in a position to adopt their step children don’t
come along all that often. In many situations one parent of a child has
recently died or is no longer actively involved in their child’s
life. There is where the rub lies for most families- in order for a step
parent to adopt their step child there must either be a deceased parent
or a biological parent’s rights to the child must be
terminated.
If you are a step parent who would like to begin to the process of attempting
to adopt your step child then this blog post is designed for you. As with
most things in the field of family law in Texas there are steps to follow
in our legal system to be able to complete a successful adoption. Let’s
discuss those steps and problems that you should be aware of.
Step parents can motion a court to become a person with rights and duties
for a child
Parental rights as established by a
family law court is what you are actually seeking through the adoption process of
your step child. Of course you have an ability to assist in the raising
of your step child, especially if he or she resides in your home, but
in the eyes of the law you do not have any rights to make decisions for
the child’s well being or any duties to provide certain things for
the child.
Step parent adoptions function basically the same as other “traditional”
adoption cases with the exception that step parent adoptions can occur
only in specific situations. Those situations are as follows:
–Deceased parent. As stated earlier in this blog post, your step child may have a parent
who is deceased and you are willing to step into that void and become
a parent to the child in the eyes of the law.
–Absentee parent. Unfortunately this is the situation that I ran into with the prospective
clients that I met with a few weeks ago. When a biological parent is not
taking an active role in their child’s life a step parent can intervene
and petition a court in order to gain rights and duties as to that child.
In addition to these circumstances being applicable, you as the step parent
must be married to the parent of the child who is actively involved in
their life.
How to actually petition a court for adoption of a step child
Now that you know the sort of circumstances that can lead to your being
able to adopt your step child, you will need to know the steps involved
in actually adopting him or her.
Like with a divorce or other lawsuit involving children, you will need to
file a Petition in order to have your case assigned to a family law judge in the county
where you live. It is possible to file a Petition for Step Parent Adoption
on your own but it is advisable to hire an attorney who has worked with
adoption cases before. Saving time and money are both possible with the
assistance of an attorney.
If your step child’s “other” parent is still living you
have the option to attempt to work with that parent to agree
to terminate their rights to your step child. If this is not possible then you will need to have
your petition heard through the
family law court to which your case has been assigned. As we have discussed in many
blog posts, the best interests of the child will be the guiding principle
that your judge uses to determine if you will be successful in your adoption attempt.
To assist the court in making their determination, there will be a
social study completed in the event that the judge believes that it is in the best
interests of your step child for your adoption attempt to continue. A
social study involves having a licensed social worker, therapist or similar
professional visit your home to evaluate your living conditions. Your
step child will be met with and interviewed as well as your spouse.
Finally, an
amicus attorney will be appointed by your judge in order to assist him or her in making
a final determination. The amicus will perform some of the same sort of
evaluations as the social study worker. Ultimately the amicus attorney
will make a recommendation to your judge as to whether or not you should
be allowed to adopt your step child. Ultimately if you are a devoted step
parent and have the best intentions for your child the odds are in your
favor once your case proceeds to this point.
Questions about step parent adoption? Please contact the Law Office of
Bryan Fagan
From Baytown to Brazoria and into The Woodlands, the
Law Office of Bryan Fagan represents clients across southeast Texas. In order to learn more about
our office and to schedule a free of charge consultation please
contact us today. We take a great deal of pride in assisting families like yours
with their legal situations and we would be honored to speak to you about
the possibility of helping you do the same.
Curated by Texas Bar Today. Follow us on Twitter @texasbartoday.
from Texas Bar Today http://ift.tt/2zIYf06
via Abogado Aly Website
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