Our Rogers County Step Parent Adoption attorneys help in all areas of family law In some situations, it may be beneficial for a step-parent to adopt the child of their current spouse . For many of these cases, one of the biological parents is no longer in the child’s life or is not safe for the child to be around. When a step-parent adoption happens, there needs to be consent from the biological parent who will no longer be a parent to the child, with a few exceptions. Then, the step-parent must go through the courts to be approved for the adoption and for it to be finalized.
Rogers County Step Parent Adoption with Consent
The easiest way for a step-parent adoption to be done is with the consent of both biological parents. If a biological parent is not in the child’s life or is interested in ending child support obligations, it may be possible they’ll allow consent. If they agree to the adoption, the step-parent and their spouse will need to move forward with the next steps. However, if consent cannot be obtained, there are a few options to consider.
Adoption Without Consent
It is possible for a step-parent to adopt a child in Rogers County if the other birth parent does not consent to the adoption. However, it does need to be proven to the courts that the biological parent has been found unfit, that they have legally abandoned the child, or that they have not paid child support for a certain amount of time. You may also use evidence of abuse or neglect, or if there are other extenuating circumstances that keep them from parenting the child. Abandonment occurs when the parent has not contacted the child or paid child support for a period of time, generally around a year. If it can be proven that the other parent is not actually the biological parent, through DNA testing, it may also be possible to proceed without consent.
Procedure for a Step-Parent Adoption 
After determining if the adoption will be done with or without consent, the next step is to petition the court for the adoption. This involves filing paperwork with the courts, letting them know that the step-parent wishes to adopt the child. This step generally includes background checks as well as filling out paperwork regarding the type of adoption and any other information the court needs to know.
After the petition, there will be a court hearing. This applies to all step-parent adoptions and gives the judge a chance to review the paperwork filed to determine if the step-parent adoption will be approved. If so, the adoption is finalized and the step-parent and their spouse can then apply for a new birth certificate for the child that has the step-parent’s name on it. Once the adoption is finalized, the previous biological parent no longer has any rights to the child, as the step-parent now has those rights.
If you are interested in a Rogers County Step Parent Adoption we can help you. Our family law attorneys have helped countless people work through the step parent adoption process. Although the process is paper work intense our attorneys will get you through it as smoothly as possible. Step adoption doesn’t have to be so difficult give us a call and tell us how we can help you.
