When you marry someone with children, you do not automatically gain legal rights over your stepchildren. This does not necessarily mean you are not family, but you can only gain full and equal parental rights if you formally adopt them.
Adoption can have a significant impact on you, your spouse and your stepchildren. If you are wondering how it can benefit your family, here is what you need to know.
You can make decisions for your stepchildren
Adopting your stepchildren will give you full parental rights and responsibilities. This means you can make decisions for all important aspects of your children’s lives, such as:
- Education
- Medical care
- Religion
- Supervision
- Health and safety
For example, you can authorize a major medical procedure for your child if their biological parent is not available. Otherwise, the hospital may have to look for someone who can provide legal consent, such as the biological mother or legal guardian.
You can put your name on the child’s legal documents
Once you complete a stepparent adoption, you can update your child’s birth certificate to include your name as a parent. The same applies to other legal documents, such as school enrollment forms, medical authorizations and travel documentation.
You can gain rights to time-sharing and visitation
In the event of a divorce, your legal status as your child’s parent remains intact. This means you have the same rights to seek time-sharing (formerly known as custody) and visitation as any biological parent.
However, it is still up to the court to determine arrangements based on the best interests of the child.
Your child will gain automatic inheritance rights
Unadopted stepchildren do not automatically inherit from their stepparents’ estate. Thus, adopting your stepchildren will give them automatic inheritance rights just like biological children.
If your stepchildren are adults and adopting them will not provide much benefit, you can name them in your will to ensure they inherit from you.
You can remain as their parent if your spouse passes away
Adoption creates a permanent legal relationship with your children. If your spouse passes away, this means you still have parental rights. This can save a lot of time, effort and money in fighting for time-sharing rights.
As you can see, there are many benefits to adopting your stepchildren—both practical and emotional. However, the stepparent adoption process can be complex. That said, consider working with a family attorney who can guide you through the process and keep your family’s best interests at heart.
