Stepparent Adoptions | San Diego Men's Family Law | Men's Legal Center

SAN DIEGO DIVORCE LAWYERS

San Diego Men’s Rights Lawyers, Helping Complete Stepparent Adoptions


When parents of a child either get divorced or they are never married and the custodial parent of the child eventually decides to marry someone else, it can create a difficult situation for everyone involved.  However, despite the horror stories that exist, there are also many successes that occur, and one of the best results that can take place is for everyone involved to seek a California stepparent adoption.  If you are involved in this situation, you need to seek the help of San Diego men’s rights lawyers as soon as possible.  Below is a brief overview of this issue.

How California Stepparent Adoptions Begin

When a prospective family decides that they would like to pursue a California stepparent adoption, the first step involves completing documentation that the state will use to advance the process.  The State Department of Social Services receives the documentation and then forwards it to the proper state agency for investigation.

Generally, the initial challenge that can be encountered is locating the biological parent who is not involved with this adoption process.  If that parent can be located and that parent does not object to the California stepparent adoption, the next set of documentation that must be completed can be forwarded to the relevant parties.

Termination of Parental Rights

The next step that occurs after the initial documentation is completed is to move towards the termination of the parental rights of the biological parent.  If the biological parent consents to such an arrangement, a final hearing in this regard can be set with the court and the process can be completed.

Unfortunately, there are situations where the biological parent either refuses to cooperate with the process or that person simply cannot be found.  In these situations, the process needs to move towards declaring that the biological parent has abandoned the child or children at issue, and when this occurs that person’s parental rights can be terminated if there is no way to find this person and/or if this person has not had any contact with the child or children for some period of time.

The Final Disposition

After this termination process is completed one way or another, the stepparent can move to a final adoption of the child.  This is done by way of a hearing at the court where the new parent’s rights are confirmed and the new family can move on as one legal unit under the eyes of the law of California.

As can be seen, while this is generally a positive process, there is much that can go wrong.  If you are involved in this situation, seek the help of San Diego men’s rights lawyers who have helped many families start anew.  Contact the Men’s Legal Center today to schedule an initial consultation.

Call us at (619) 234-3838

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