Stepparent Adoption

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Denton County Stepparent Adoption Lawyers

Helping Families Create Lasting, Legal Relationships

At North Texas Family Lawyers, we understand the importance of creating lasting family relationships and the importance of legally formalizing the bond between parent and child. We have helped many families create lasting relationships through adoption, including stepparent adoption, and are ready to put our experience to work for you and your family.

At North Texas Family Lawyers, our Denton County stepparent adoption lawyers can help you understand your options and develop a plan to help you pursue a stepparent adoption.

Contact our firm today at (972) 402-6367 to speak with a compassionate attorney about your situation.

What Is a Stepparent Adoption?

A stepparent adoption is the legal process by which you can gain parental rights over a child you are raising with your partner. This process allows you to become a legal parent to your stepchild and grants you the same parental rights as the child's biological parent. Stepparent adoption can be pursued in two different ways:

You can pursue a stepchild adoption if you are legally married to the child's parent.
You can also pursue a de facto stepchild adoption if you are in a domestic partnership with the child's parent.

In either case, you will typically need to prove that you have been acting as a parent for some time before pursuing a stepparent adoption. You will also need to attend a home study, which will be conducted by a social worker to ensure that the home environment is a healthy one for the child.

When Can a Stepparent Adopt?

In Texas, a stepparent can pursue a stepparent adoption if they are married to the child's legal parent. In addition, a stepparent can also pursue a stepparent adoption if they are in a domestic partnership with the child's legal parent. You can pursue a stepparent adoption if:

You are married to the child's parent.
You are in a domestic partnership with the child's parent.

However, in order to adopt your partner's child, you must meet certain requirements, such as being at least 18 years old and passing a criminal background check. You must also be able to prove that you have been acting as a parent for a significant period of time.

How Long Does a Stepparent Adoption Last?

A stepparent adoption will last as long as the parent-child relationship exists. This means that the adoptive parent's rights will be terminated if:

The child stops living with the adoptive parent.
The adoptive parent no longer has parental rights.

If the child stops living with the adoptive parent, the parental rights of the adoptive parent will be terminated, and the child's birth parent will once again have full parental rights over the child. If the adoptive parent loses parental rights, the child will be placed with the child's biological parent once again. In either case, the child's birth parent can petition the court to ask for the child to be returned to them.

Contact Our Firm

At North Texas Family Lawyers, our Denton County stepparent adoption attorneys can help you understand your options and develop a plan to pursue a stepparent adoption. We can help you through every step of the stepparent adoption process.

To learn more about how we can help you, contact us today at (972) 402-6367 or by using our online form.