STEPPARENTS AND ADOPTION: PART ONE

Part Two will be posted early next year.

Not every stepparent adopts the partner's biological children, but many do, particularly if the child or children are very young. Various statistics suggest that anywhere from slightly less than 50% to more than half of United States adoptions concern stepchildren...and these figures include all adoptions, even international ones. Reasons for adopting, or not, are as varied as the people who consider or reject the idea, but it can be helpful to look a bit closer at some aspects of the subject.

One advantage to adoption occurs if both stepparents have biological children. Although the words "mine" and "yours" probably aren't mentioned in the home, this possible distinction can be eliminated by arranging for all the children to be "ours." This is particularly helpful when the stepparents plan to have one or more children together, and aids in making the entire family feel like a closer unit.

Laws about adoption aren't exactly the same everywhere, although some basics are consistent. The first consideration is the child's other biological parent: if the absence resulted from death, the adoption will be a much simpler matter than if the parent is living. When the noncustodial parent is living, it is necessary to obtain permission before proceeding with adoption. The noncustodial parent's refusal makes the process more difficult, but not necessarily impossible.

In many ways, adoption of stepchildren is a more streamlined procedure than is the process with non-related children, with various required steps eliminated or gone through quickly. Stepparent Adoptions offers a lot of information through a question-and-answer article, and covers some of the more difficult situations. An article by Pauline Tesler, Step-Parent Adoptions, looks at some of the legal aspects of the procedure. Although she is talking about California, the generalities apply to most other places. Among other things, she points out that the uncontested adoption is quicker and less costly than the contested one, and that appeals are possible in the extremely rare case of the Court turning down a stepparent adoption application. Tesler discusses in detail the four possible routes to a successful stepparent adoption:

• Consent by the non-custodial biological parent
• Willful failure of the absent parent to support and communicate
• Abandonment by the biological parent
• Termination of rights of an alleged father.

A different consideration is the case of the single stepparent. Unfortunately, stepparent marriages sometimes end, and this can leave children separated from a parent they have learned to love as much as they care for the biological parent. Although adopting the stepchildren does not prevent such a separation, it can help when the legalities are being worked out. For a closer look at this situation, see Single Stepparents Are a Trend.

Go To Page: 1 2