Legal Question in Family Law in California
step child adoption
My husband has sole legal and physical custody of his son which I would like to adopt. His birthmother is not in his life and has not had any contact with him nor paid any support regularly, as for straight it's been about 7 months since we heard from her or got any form of support from her. We have no idea where she is or what she is doing. How difficult will it be and what process and forms do I need to do to get her parental rights taken away, since I know she would never consent to this even if she was in his life.
3 Answers from Attorneys
Re: step child adoption
Termination of parental rights can be a difficult and costly procedure. Without consent, there can be twists and turns along the way. You really should have an attorney handle this for you.
Re: step child adoption
Before you can adopt the child, the parental rights of the mother must be terminated. The grounds for termination of parental rights is no contact and no support for one year and the termination is within the discrection of the judge. From a practical matter, it would probably not be granted if the mother objected. The bright side is that you continue to be his "real mommy" because you are the one that is acting like a "real mommy". Maybe you will need to wait a couple of years until she has lost interest and owes a lot of money in child support. Good Luck, Pat McCrary
Reply: step child adoption
Parental rights can be terminated after 12 consecutive months of failing to contribute to the support of the child or contact with the child.
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