Stepparent Adoptions

The Process for Stepparent Adoption in California

• Stepparent adoption in California has a few simple legal requirements:
• The adoptive and legal parent must be legally married or in a registered domestic partnership. (Otherwise, prospective parents may pursue the more difficult “second parent adoption” procedure.)
• The adoptive parent must be at least 18 years old and at least ten years older than the child.
• The adoptive parent’s spouse or domestic partner must consent to the adoption.
• The child’s other legal parent must consent, which means relinquishing his or her parental rights for all time.
• If the child is 12 years old or older, the child must also consent.

Overcoming the Absent Parent’s Refusal to Consent

California does not permit a child to have more than two parents, so a legal parent can veto a stepparent adoption by refusing to give up his or her parental rights. When that happens, you must challenge the fitness of that parent by presenting evidence of “willful failure” as a parent or “abandonment.” Evidence that the parent has not contacted or supported the child in more than a year is generally necessary. In rare cases, a parent may be only an “alleged father,” in which case you can challenge the man’s paternity to terminate his rights.