How to Adopt a Step Child in Houston, TX : A guideline

Posted by Isabella Smith008 on December 30th, 2016

A family is a relationship that you share with the special people in your life. These special people have the utmost amount of importance in your life and what is yours is their too.

In the legal terms, a family consists of two partners who are married to each other, and as they continue to live together, they extend their family by having children together. Without a child no family is complete. The birth of kids strengthens the bond that the couple shares.

The concept of adoption
Being a stepparent is a tough job, especially when the kid you wish to adopt is no longer a toddler. There are a lot of legal bindings that you need to look into before you can go ahead and complete the adoption process. Each state in the US has different laws with regards to the adoption process. A lot of requirements are needed to be fulfilled in order to see it through.

Legal issues
The state govern the stepparent adoption, similar to all other forms of adoption in the US. While most of the states have an easier process of adoption and you may not even require a lawyer to represent you, or not even a home study. However, in some states a criminal background check is must and that is why you should have a proper guideline for adopting second child.

How long the adoption will take also varies by state. In some states, the adoption by a stepparent is not approved unless you’ve been married to the child’s parent and living with the child for 1 year or longer. Due to all these technicalities being involved in the process, you always need professional help to ease the process and avoid being mired up into legal battle.

Professional adoption service in Houston, TX
If you’re wondering how to adopt a step child in Houston, TX then you can find the process below:

-Petition filing : The process begins with filing a petition with the local family court.
-Termination of Parental rights : The next step is to obtain a termination of parental rights from the absent parent, if one is known and alive.
-Social Study : The next step is a social study of the prospective family that is evaluation of the financial and employment records.
-Amicus Attorney : After the social study, an Amicus Attorney is appointed who acts as a non-biased lawyer to complete the rest of the proceedings.

Post the court proceedings the child is legally under your custody.

About The Author

The author is an avid writer. This article is about guideline for adopting second child.

For more information: www.stepparentadoptionforms.com