Stepmom wanting to adopt

Originally Posted By KatrinaWhere in California are you? I'm a stepmom in San Diego and am just getting ready to dive into stepparent adoption myself. I can tell you a few things that may help. First, how long has it been since she has seen your stepchild? In California if she hasn't paid support or visited in over a year you can file for a termination of her parental rights for abandonment. If she has paid support and has an even minimal relationship with your stepchild, your probably in for one heck of a legal battle unless she just signs a consent. You can call the Juvenille Court in your area and ask for those consent forms.You should also research the California code for stepparent adoption. Now why do you need the legal guardianship? Is your husband ill or is it for "just in case"? In California if a parent has sole legal and physical custody they can do several different guardianships. One is joint guardianship. This can be done if your husband suffers from a potentially fatal condition.Basically, your husband retains full parental and custodial rights and you become joint in custodial rights. Upon the death of your spouse you immediatly retain sole custody without any further court interferance. But, the other bio parent still retains parental right and can file for visitation, etc. They can also petition for custody later if they get their act together. Another form of guardianship is a standby guardianship. Now I haven't researched that one thoroughly. So I won't give you any info on that other than to look it up under probate law or any law website dealing with guardianship in California. Mind you, as long as she retains some custody you may have a problem getting anywhere with any of these options unless she agrees to it. You may end up going to family court to have your husband seek sole legal and physical custody. That's what we had to do and it took 2yrs. and $30,000.00 in legal expenses. You have to prove that placing the child in her care would be detrimental to his well being. You may think you've got alot on her, but the courts protect the bio-parents rights like you wouldn't believe. The bio-mom of my stepson was a mentally ill, meth addict. She also never paid a dime of support since she walked out on my husband and then 16 month old baby. He's 7 now. She also haden't seen him more than a couple of hours a month since that time. That's a conservetive estimate. It took her dropping out of sight for 16 mos.before we got it. Do some research. Findlaw is a great website for that. Also, check out your law library. And, if you end up having to retain an attorney,SHOP AROUND! Also, don't forget to check references! You don't want a lousy attorney it will end up making problems a 100 times worse,and cost 10 times as much, and take 3 times longer than it should. Good luck! Hopes this helps.

Originally Posted By Desiree Lee NevesI needs to know what I need to do to start a adoption for my step daughter her mother is deceased and my husband is the fater of this new 1 year old need toknow procedures to start adoption

Originally Posted By DorendaI was in the same boat you are. I, too, live in California. Just last year, the adoption of my daughter (from my husband's previous marriage) was finalized. It was an uphill battle, but we won it. There is a terrific book, "How to Adopt Your Step-Child in California." Check it out. You will need consent of the birth mother and father. If she has had no contact or support of your son for at least one year, you can try to adopt him through the birth mother's abandonment of him. Check out the book and if you have any other questions, please let me know. I've been through the courts, a trial and finally did the adoption part on my own. I'd gladly help in any way I can. You can e-mail me at hamfam@attbi.com if you'd like. Good luck!!