Question:
I am in the process of adopting my wife’s child since the child’s biological father is terminating his parental rights.
However, my wife now wants to divorce me. The adoption paperwork has not gone to the judge yet.
Will this adoption still go through even though we are now divorcing?
Answer:
Even after a biological parent has terminated his or her rights, the stepparent still must be approved to adopt the child. A decree terminating the parent-child relationship is a final judgment, which will end that parent’s legal rights regarding the child.
However, in order for the stepparent to adopt the child after the biological parent’s rights have been terminated, he or she will still need to take place in a pre-adoptive/post-adoptive social study and the court must approve the adoption.
So if the judge has not approved the adoption then you have not yet become the legal guardian of the child.
For more information please contact a Texas family law attorney. Please be advised that my answering of this question does not constitute an attorney-client relationship.
Cordell & Cordell has men’s divorce lawyers located in 18 states.
Jennifer Hankinson is a Staff Attorney in the Dallas, Texas office of Cordell & Cordell, where she practices domestic relations exclusively. Ms. Hankinson is licensed in the state of Texas. Ms. Hankinson received her bachelors’ degrees in both Finance and Political Science from Santa Clara University in Santa Clara, California. She later received her Juris Doctor from Gonzaga University School of Law in Spokane, Washington, where she graduated Cum Laude.
