There are plenty of good reasons to adopt your stepchild. You’ll provide a sense of stability and unity for the family. You can all have the same last name — which can be a big part of that sense of family unity. You become the child’s legal parent, with rights to make decisions about education and healthcare that can be essential in emergency situations. You continue to have a parental relationship if your spouse should die or otherwise be unable to care for the child. But there are still some serious questions to think about. One is this: what about stepparent adoption and the extended family?
How does stepparent adoption affect the extended family?
Stepparent adoption is the process of adopting a spouse’s child. If the other biological parent of the child agrees to the adoption or has involuntary termination of parental rights, the custodial parent’s spouse can legally adopt the child. Once the adoption is finalized, the child is the legal offspring of the married couple. There is no longer any legal connection between the child and the other biological parent’s extended family.
This means that the child’s grandparents on the other side will no longer be legally considered grandparents. Half siblings from the other biological parent are no longer legally related to the child. That favorite aunt or uncle is no longer a relative.
This can be emotionally devastating for those extended family members, and for the child as well.
Legal issues and emotional issues
Legally, the situation is very clear. Granny is no longer related to the adopted child and has no legal right to a continuing relationship. However, if she has a strong relationship with the child, you may not want to disrupt that relationship. There is no law requiring a separation or forbidding visitation.
Courtesy aunts and uncles are a longstanding tradition — close friends of the parents are often called “Auntie” or “Uncle.” Just letting those important former relatives know that you support their continued connection with your child can be enough.
On the other hand, if the relationship doesn’t seem to be a healthy one or you think that the former parent’s relatives will violate the terms of the adoption, you have the ability to limit that connection.
Plan an open adoption and make sure to work out all the details, not just for the other biological parent but also for the extended family. Heimer Law can help make this part of your stepparent adoption a smoother transition. Call (479) 225.9725 or use our simple form to begin the conversation.
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