Legal Question in Family Law in Minnesota

Re: custody

Your question raises a large number of difficult issues, but the general answer is fairly simple.

First, what you are apparently interested in doing is a "step parent adoption," in which your girlfriend adopts the child. That will only be approved by the court if you are married for at least one year. The process is considerably more involved than just taking a few papers to the court house. The child's mother must consent, and an adoption study and background check must be completed before the court will approve the adoption. Further, the procedural rules are quite strict and must be followed carefully. This is not something you should do without the assistance of an attorney.

If you do not get married, you cannot petition for a step parent adoption. The child's mother cannot simply "give up" her parental rights, nor can your mother or some other person so easily adopt the child.

If you are interested in pursing this, you can contact me at your convenience. My contact information is below.

Good luck and thank you for your question.

Re: custody

I am afraid that it is not so simple. The court will not terminate rights in most instances unless there is another person, a step parent, to step into the parents shoes. If there is no endangerment, the rights will not be terminated.