Stepparent Adoption
How to Adopt Stepchild in California
Overview
“Parenthood requires love, not DNA.”
ALG works to treat all parties involved in the stepparent adoption process with respect and to keep the child’s best interests at the heart of every decision made.
Filing of the Adoption Request
The first step in your stepparent adoption is to file an Adoption Request in the county you reside in. ALG handles stepparent adoptions in Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, San Diego, and Ventura counties. An Adoption Request is a form asking you to provide information about you, the child, your relation to the child, and any other information relating to parents and other guardians in the child’s life which will be relevant to the adoption determination.
Investigation by Social Services
After filing the Adoption Request, we will forward the request to the appropriate California social services agency, or private agency, which will conduct a brief investigation of the proposed adoption. This includes gathering relevant identifying documents (e.g. birth certificates) as well as participating in interviews with the social services representative, which will generally include an interview of the child as well. Most investigations are straightforward, and the state’s interest is in promoting adoption whenever it is in the best interests of the child. When a child is Native American, additional steps may apply under federal law before the adoption can be approved.
Termination of Non-custodial Parental Rights
If the other parent of the child is still living, then that parent’s parental rights will have to be terminated before you can adopt. Terminating a parent’s parental rights frees them from obligations such as providing child support, but also means they will not have certain rights such as court-ordered visitation.
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Some non-custodial parents are willing to consent to the termination of their parental rights, which means they simply sign a form relinquishing their rights, but things can get more challenging when that parent is either difficult to locate or will not consent to termination of rights. In those cases, we will undertake all efforts to diligently locate that parent and/or work through the courts to have the judge terminate that parent’s rights. ALG also works with families who have started the process but need an attorney to petition the court to terminate the non-custodial parent’s rights.
Hearing Before the Judge
The last step is to attend a final hearing in which the adopting parent formally agrees to adopt the child. Family and friends are invited to attend this happy event that culminates with pictures with the judge and teddy bears for all. ALG will also assist in the preparation of a new birth certificate to reflect the adoption.
Experienced Attorneys for Your California Stepparent Adoption
Adoption Law Group is a law firm in Southern California dedicated exclusively to adoption.
Our areas of practice include stepparent adoptions, fost-adopt finalizations, adult adoptions, guardianships and international readoptions. Contact us today to schedule a consultation.
