Helping Facilitate Stepparent Adoptions
When you or your spouse has children from a previous partner, fostering a relationship between the new parents and children can be difficult. However, once they blossom and mature, you may want to make the relationship permanent and familial. At Christina T. Sherman, PLLC, in Fircrest, Washington, we want to help stepparents with adopting a stepchild.
How It Works
The stepparent adoption process involves two major steps. Our attorney, Christina T. Sherman, will lead you through these steps:
Terminate the parental rights of the non-parenting birth parent. This is the first big hurdle in stepparent adoptions. Whether or not a stepparent adoption is feasible depends almost entirely on whether the parental rights of the “non-parenting” legal parent may be terminated. Let’s be clear, this is a very high hurdle. However, if the “non-parenting” legal parent has failed to perform his or her parental duties with a substantial disregard for those duties, terminating their legal parental rights may be feasible. Things can turn messy very easily, but we are here to help! Ms. Sherman will lead you through the process and handle this in the best way possible. Even if litigation is necessary, our trial experience will put you in the proper hands to handle your adoption.
Legally adopt the stepchild. Once the child is legally free, the court must determine that the adoption is in the child’s best interest. To make the finding, the court relies upon a report by an adoption social worker. We will lay everything out for you in detail, and provide all the contacts and resources necessary to make this step as quick and efficient as possible. We will personally handle everything and make the process easy.
A Background Check Is Necessary
It is important to remember that you do not need to be perfect for stepparent adoptions to proceed. While an investigation of the stepparent is required for the adoption, it is all done for the best interests of the child. If there is something in your past that worries you, we will work through it together. In many cases, it is not a deal-breaker, and having a lawyer on your side gives a better chance for success. But, we are always ready to fight for you and your family if necessary.
Get Started
Your family does not need to be defined by last names and birth certificates. However, making things official is a momentous occasion that should be celebrated. Contact our office today to get started with stepparent adoption by calling 253-466-2775 or sending an email.