How Do I Adopt My Stepchild in Oklahoma?
Step parent adoption in Oklahoma
helps unite families, offering your stepchild a peaceful, loving home to grow up in. Adoption is a selfless act of love and an essential step for a stepparent to take. This type of adoption is also known as a “related adoption” because one of the parents involved in the adoption process is biologically related to the child. When it comes to a related adoption, there are still several requirements, but the process is typically less tedious than an unrelated adoption.
For assistance with an Oklahoma step parent adoption, contact the attorney at Lisa R Howard PLLC to learn more about the process and how to begin the process.
Requirements for Stepparent Adoption in OK
There are essential requirements that must be met in a related adoption. In addition to the paperwork and costs, those requirements include:
- The stepparent seeking adoption must be married to the birth parent.
- The birth parent of the child who is married to the stepparent seeking adoption must be an active participant in the petition process.
A related adoption is more accessible and less time-consuming than other adoption methods. With this type of adoption, there is not always a need to have a home study to determine if someone is a good fit for adoption, and other similar requirements can be side-stepped. The biggest challenge faced in these types of adoptions is getting the non-custodial parent’s consent. If the other parent refuses to give up their rights, regardless of if they are in the child’s life or not, it may slow the adoption process down, often bringing it to a halt.
A biological parent’s consent to stepparent adoption is not always necessary in Oklahoma. Legal action may be sought when dealing with a birth parent refusing to give up their parental rights, especially if they have been disinterested in the child, failed to pay child support, missed visitations with the minor child, or have abandoned the child.
How Long Does a Step Parent Adoption Oklahoma Take?
Oklahoma law states that adoptions take a minimum of 6 months. Often, in stepparent adoptions the Court can waive that time period and they can be done sooner.
What Are the Benefits of a Step Parent Adoption?
The first and most significant benefit to adopting your stepchild is the sense of belonging and providing emotional security for the child. It gives both you and the child a sense of a permanent home and someone committed to their life and family as a whole. Plus, adopting a stepchild makes you their parent, removing a biological parent who may have abandoned them or is not upholding their parental duties.
One of the most common things that we hear from clients is they are concerned about what would happen to their child in the event of their death. A completed stepparent adoption keeps your child inside your home with your spouse and prevents the child from going back to their other biological parent should you pass away.
To learn more about the many benefits of adopting your stepchild, speak with an adoption attorney Oklahoma and learn more about the adoption process.
How an Attorney Can Help
If you are a step parent adopting your spouse’s biological child, having an adoption attorney OKC by your side can help alleviate some of the stress associated with the process. Having an attorney by your side offers you personalized, skilled, and responsible services helping you feel at ease. Your adoption attorney Tulsa can help prepare all the paperwork, create a case file, file all paperwork with the courts, and appear with you during the hearing. Additionally, an attorney can help obtain parental consent from the non-custodial parent or help file a motion to have their rights terminated with the courts.
If you and your spouse are considering a stepparent adoption, call the offices of Lisa R Howard PLLC to schedule a consultation. Our adoption lawyers OKC can help demonstrate the process and help get everything ready to file with the courts. Let us help take some of the stress off our shoulders by handling your step parent adoption case from start to finish.
Call us today. Attorney Howard is ready to help you.