Representing Stepparents in Upland Family Court

How Can Stepparents Get Legal Rights?

If you are a stepparent married to your step child’s biological parent, your rights are fairly limited in family law unless you meet one of two possible requirements. You must either obtain legal guardianship over the child, or you must legally adopt the child. If you were to divorce your step child’s biological parent, there is ultimately little to no legal recourse for you to obtain any custody or stepparent visitation rights unless you can provide clear and convincing evidence that continued contact with the child would suit their best interests.

Stepparents can secure limited legal rights through their stepchild’s custodial parent. If you are married to your step child’s custodial parent, it is very likely through the course of normal everyday events that you will be presented with opportunities to make major decisions on the child’s behalf. However, this authority granted in any regard is almost always contingent on the consent of the child’s biological custodial parent. If you want to secure the same level of legal authority over your stepchild that a biological parent would have, you must adopt the child.

Do You Need a Lawyer for Stepparent Adoption?

The adoption process can provide you with the legal rights of a biological parent and provide your stepchild with the same legal rights your biological child would have. While it is technically possible to navigate the adoption process without legal assistance, it is much easier and swifter when you hire an Upland stepparent rights lawyer to assist you.

Your attorney can help you complete the prerequisites for adoption, including filling out the necessary paperwork, completing required background checks, and appearing for your adoption hearing in family court. Your attorney can also assist you in securing the forms you may require from the child’s other biological parent. Typically, a stepparent can only adopt their stepchild if the child’s other biological parent has lost their parental rights due to involuntary termination or if they have voluntarily surrendered their parental rights.

Are You Legally Responsible for Stepchildren?

Technically, a stepparent has no legal responsibility to their stepchild. Even if the stepparent performs all of the daily tasks that a biological parent would complete on behalf of their children, ultimately, the stepparent has no legal responsibilities to the child unless they obtain guardianship or formally adopt the child.

This should not be construed as an excuse to neglect a stepchild or leave a stepchild in a dangerous situation. While a stepparent has no legal responsibility to their stepchild, they can still face legal repercussions if they abuse, neglect, abandon, or otherwise harm the child. Ultimately, a stepparent should follow their spouse’s or partner’s lead when it comes to raising a stepchild unless the biological parent is abusive, neglectful, or otherwise presents a danger to the child.

How Much Authority Do Stepparents Have?

If you are married to your step child’s biological parent, their biological parent has primary legal authority over the child. If the biological parent shares custody in any measure with the child’s other biological parent, the other biological parent would have authority in measure with their custody rights.

If you are a stepparent married to your step child’s biological parent and the child’s other biological parent is deceased or has lost or voluntarily surrendered their parental rights, you still have no real legal authority over your child. However, your spouse may designate you as having the authority to make some decisions on your child’s behalf in medical and educational situations.

Ultimately, you have no real authority without establishing guardianship or adopting the child. If you assist your spouse in raising their child, you will have whatever authority the custodial parent grants you in terms of discipline, imposing curfew on the child, assigning household chores, and deciding what type of media the child can consume.

Can a Stepparent Have Power of Attorney?

In some situations, a child’s biological and custodial parent may grant in loco parentis power of attorney to their child’s stepparent in their absence, allowing the stepparent to make legal, medical, and educational decisions on the child’s behalf. A stepparent can only obtain power of attorney over their stepchild if it is granted by the child’s custodial parent. The custodial parent must also be careful in granting this power so as to not relinquish their parental rights.

Can a Stepparent Fight for Custody?

Generally, a stepparent cannot seek custody of their stepchild unless they have established guardianship or adopted the child. However, many courts throughout the US are now recognizing stepparents’ rights more broadly and will allow a stepparent continued visitation if the court deems that it would suit the child’s best interest. Unfortunately, courts throughout the US also uphold that a child’s custodial parent has the right to decide who can have access to their child. Ultimately, if your ex-spouse decides that they do not want you to continue having contact with their child, there is very little recourse available to you.

In some cases, it may be possible for a stepparent to fight for custody of their stepchild if they can prove that the child’s custodial parent is unfit or the child’s biological parents have died or lost or relinquished their parental rights. Typically, this process would include adoption of the child.

What Type of Lawyer Handles Child Custody?

Child custody determinations fall under the purview of family law. If you are involved in any type of child custody matter, you need legal counsel from a family law attorney. These legal professionals handle all types of family legal matters, including divorce, child custody determination, child support, and more. It is essential to work with an attorney with professional experience handling family law matters.

How to Become Your Step Child’s Legal Guardian

The first option a stepparent has to establish legal rights over their stepchild is to obtain legal guardianship. This option is only available if the stepchild’s biological parents are both unable or unwilling to assume parental responsibility for the child. An Upland stepparents rights lawyer can help you complete the necessary Petition of Guardianship with the local family court. Legal guardianship would provide you with the same legal authority as the child’s custodial parent, and you would have the ability to make decisions on the child’s behalf.

How to Adopt Your Stepchild According To Law

The legal adoption process would formally recognize you as your step child’s legal parent, granting you all of the legal rights and imposing the same legal responsibilities as a biological parent. Adoption requires the consent of the child’s custodial biological parent. The other noncustodial parent must either relinquish their parental rights voluntarily or have had their parental rights involuntarily stripped due to bad behavior.

The adoption process is fairly straightforward and typically consists of completing necessary paperwork, undergoing background checks, and completing an interview conducted by a court-appointed investigator. The investigator’s job is to ascertain whether the adoptive parent can provide a safe and nurturing environment for the adopted child. The adoption process will typically conclude with a formal hearing in family court. Unless the judge finds any reason to question the validity or propriety of the proposed adoption, the judge will approve the decision, and the stepparent will become the child’s legal custodial parent.

Stepparents and Medical and Educational Records

The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) exists to protect the educational records of children and only provide access to such records to qualifying individuals. Under the terms of FERPA, a married step parent living with their stepchild automatically has the right to receive and review their stepchild’s educational records. Natural parents have the right to designate anyone they wish to have access to these records, and a custodial biological parent does not need the consent of the child’s other biological parent to designate a stepparent as having access to their child’s school records. An unmarried stepparent can gain legal access to their child’s school records so long as their partner designates them as having this right with the school.

When it comes to medical records, the same general rules apply with some exceptions. To make medical decisions on a stepchild’s behalf, the child’s biological custodial parent must sign a consent form that grants you access to the child’s medical records and allows you to make medical decisions on the child’s behalf. It is sometimes possible to file a Power of Attorney form that would grant you the ability to make some medical decisions on your step child’s behalf, and your child’s custodial parent may petition the local family court to modify their custody agreement to include your right to make medical decisions on the child’s behalf as their stepparent.

In most situations, your spouse’s signature on the appropriate consent form may be enough to grant you authority as a stepparent to make medical decisions for your stepchild, and you would not require the signature of the child’s other biological parent. In an emergency situation in which a stepchild needs lifesaving medical care and the stepparent is the only person available to make decisions on their behalf, most medical treatment centers will allow the stepparent to make medical decisions due to the critical nature of the situation.

What You Can Expect From an Upland Stepparents Rights Lawyer

If you are a stepparent in Upland, CA and have any concerns or questions about your legal relationship with your stepchild, it is vital to consult an experienced Upland, CA stepparents rights lawyer as soon as possible. Your attorney can help you determine the options available in your situation, whether you would like to adopt your stepchild, secure legal guardianship over them, or obtain custody rights.

Every case is unique, so it is vital to connect with an experienced attorney to obtain specific advice about your situation. Your Upland, CA stepparents rights lawyer will help you determine your best available legal options for your situation. For example, if you are concerned about obtaining child custody in divorce with your step child’s biological parent, and you believe the biological parent is unfit or poses a credible threat to the child’s safety, your attorney can help you determine the best approach to fighting for custody.

At the Law Offices of Stephanie J. Squires, our team understands the difficult situations that many stepparents can encounter. As your Upland stepparents rights lawyer, Attorney Squires and her team will thoroughly investigate every aspect of your situation to help you determine the best legal options available to you. Ultimately, legal decisions in California family court come down to the best interests of the child. If you want to secure any measure of legal rights over your stepchild, your attorney must help you prove that granting such rights to you would suit your step child’s best interests.