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Step Parent Adoption
- Contested or uncontested
- Adoption is permanent & previous support ceases
- Guardianship is temporary but necessary for legal rights
The adoption of a minor can be either contested or uncontested. If the natural parent consents to the adoption, than no litigation is involved in the adoption process; however certain statutory requirements must be met in order for an adoption to be entered. In general, once an adoption is finalized, the adoptee’s name on his or her birth certificate changes to reflect the new parent’s surname. All legal relations between the adoptee and the birth parent and relatives of the birth parent are terminated by the adoption, meaning all parental rights and responsibilities of the birth parent are terminated. This includes termination of any child support obligation of the birth parent to that child. If the adoption of a minor is contested by the birth parent, concerns of parental abandonment of the child under the legal meaning of the term will be at issue. Essentially, abandonment occurs when the natural parent, “while being able, makes no provision for the child’s support and makes little or no effort to communicate with the child, which situation is sufficient to evince intent to reject parental responsibilities”.
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