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Ok... where do I begin...My wife is a terminally ill cancer patient with three children (3, 6, 11) all of whom have different fathers. The oldest child is in the custody of his father while the younger two are in her custody. The youngest doesn't have biological paternity established. In the event that she passes on. Who would legally retain custody of the children. Mostly I am concerned for the youngest. I am the only one she knows. I am Daddy to her. Would the State (Texas) grant me custody?
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You'd have to prove to them why they should. I don't know at all, but I wouldn't be surprised if you would have to go through the foster care system and be licensed as an emergency placement or some such mess if the situation occured. If she is very young and you had a jerk of a judge, she could easily be placed with another relative who stepped forward over you. I would recommend beginning the steps for a formal adoption if that is what you and your wife want to happen. One of the initial papers you sign says if your wife dies that the adoption will continue. With the biodad unknown and disappeared, you'll have to go through some hoops that won't be difficult, just time consuming. You do not have to adopt all three in order to adopt the youngest and the court will not take your lack of adoption of the other two into account. If no one contests the adoption, then it is a pretty slam-dunk case once you jump through all the hoops. As the oldest's dad has custody, you obviously will not be adopting her. If the middle child's dad does not show very much interest in parenthood, you could approach him and say that you are adopting the youngest and would like to see the girls remain close when and if your beloved wife passes away and see if he would like to relinquish rights or set up a visitation schedule. I'd say the first place to start is your law library where you can pick up a copy of the petition to adopt your step-child for a couple of bucks. The entire process will probably cost you a couple thousand dollars (more or less depending on particulars). If you represent yourself, you can save a lot. Of course, that comes with its own risks. But you can look over the papers and see what you think. But that is the first place to start.
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If the youngest doesnt have paternity established, then go ahead and start a stepparent adoption on her. As for the other two children, the oldest would stay with it's father, and you did not mention a father for the middle child, but if there is one in the picture then he would retain custody of the child. You could look into getting legal guardianship of the children in order to maintain custody of all of them, but the biological fathers can fight you in court for custody. Julie[url="http://stepparent.adoptionblogs.com/"]http://stepparent.adoptionblogs.com/[/url]
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If the youngest doesnt have paternity established, then go ahead and start a stepparent adoption on her. As for the other two children, the oldest would stay with it's father, and you did not mention a father for the middle child, but if there is one in the picture then he would retain custody of the child. You could look into getting legal guardianship of the children in order to maintain custody of all of them, but the biological fathers can fight you in court for custody. Julie[url="http://stepparent.adoptionblogs.com/"]http://stepparent.adoptionblogs.com/[/url]