Adopting Your StepChild
Stepparent Adoption in Kansas
If your spouse already had children when you got married, you may feel like their kids are your kids, but in the eyes of the law, they are not. The kids might call you “Mom” or “Dad,” and you could already live your lives as if you are just as much their parent as your spouse.
But legally, you are not your stepchildren’s parent. Does that matter? It could, depending on what happens in the future. For example, if you and your spouse get divorced or die, you may not have any legal right to keep the kids or even have visitation time with them. To prevent this unfortunate outcome, consider stepparent adoption.
The rules for adopting stepchildren in Kansas
Kansas follows the Kansas Adoption and Relinquishment Act when determining the path to adopting your spouse's child. First, your spouse must sign a consent form for your adoption and is a party to the proceedings. Also, the child’s other biological parent can either consent to your adoption or contest it. In certain circumstances, the noncustodial parent’s consent can be found to be unnecessary by a judge if specific findings are made following a court hearing. Here you and your attorney will present your case that the other parent has failed to assume the duties of a parent for the two years prior to filing the adoption petition by your current spouse and that it is in your stepchild’s best interests to allow the adoption to proceed. After this court hearing, your adoption of your spouse’s child will go forward.
You can find out more about stepparent adoption.
To best understand the process of adopting your stepchild, so you don’t make a critical mistake, you need to consult an adoption attorney who can help you navigate this sometimes contentious adoption area. I have finalized many stepparent adoptions and am happy to help you with yours.
You can call, text, or email me anytime -call or text: 785-217-4603, email: lisa@theadoptiongroup.com, or Facebook message: https://www.facebook.com/theadoptionlawgroup/. The office phone is answered 24 hours a day, every single day. I make every effort to respond to emails and text messages within a few minutes of receipt.
POSITIVE ADOPTION LANGUAGE DISCLAIMER: These blog posts are written using language people use when searching for help with their adoption plans. Unfortunately, while many of us understand what positive adoption language means, most expectant moms that come to me at first do not. Like it or not, the search term, "how do I give up my baby for adoption," is the most common. If I do not include those words in the blog posts and instead write "how do I create an adoption plan for my baby," my website will not show up in most expectant moms' search results in Google.
