The key difference is marriage. If you are married and want to adopt your spouse’s child, you are seeking a stepparent adoption. If you are not married but want to adopt your significant other’s child, this is a second-parent adoption. The distinction is important as there are different requirements to complete each type of adoption in Florida. Our Florida adoption lawyer summarize some of the other key differences below.
Stepparent Adoption
If you want to adopt your spouse’s child then you should look into the stepparent adoption process. Making a new family gives the couple involved a chance at a fresh start. A stepparent adoption legalizes the parental relationship you already have with the children of your new spouse. In Florida, such a legal action gives you full and equal parental rights and responsibilities over your stepchild; you become as much of a parent to them as your spouse.
Stepparent adoptions begin with the filing of a Joint Petition for Stepparent Adoption filed by both the stepparent and the spouse. First and foremost, you have to be married to seek this type of adoption and must be able to provide the Court a valid marriage certificate. Within the petition, you must also inform the court as to the reasons why you are seeking to adopt your stepchild and provide information such as the child’s birth certificate and how long you have lived with the child. Additionally, if the child is 12 or older, they are also required to provide their written consent.
The filing of the petition only initiates the adoption process. The other parent of the child—your spouse’s ex—will then have a chance to oppose the adoption. If they do not exercise this right, then the court will grant the adoption at a final hearing where they will review the relevant filings and evidence. After the adoption has been approved by the court, you will be able to obtain a new birth certificate for the child, identifying you as the child’s new legal parent.
Second-Parent Adoption
If you are not married to your significant other but want to adopt their child, you are seeking a second-parent adoption. In Florida, this type of adoption gives you full parental rights as any other adoption would. The process is more complex than a stepparent adoption though and requires you to obtain an adoption home study, pass parental fitness tests, and complete other evaluations.
Entering into a domestic relationship with your partner and taking care of their child does not give you legal rights to the child. The only way to secure these rights is through an adoption process. Without these rights, you will have no say in important decisions about the child’s future. You will have no legal right to custody or shared custody should something happen to the biological parent or your relationship with them. Regardless of how close you have grown to the child, your rights will always be secondary to that of your significant other and your spouse’s ex without the completed adoption process. Under Florida law, both different-sex and same-sex couples can seek second-parent adoptions.
Again, the primary difference between a stepchild adoption and a second-parent adoption is marriage. You must be married to the parent of the child in the former case. In the latter case, you and the child’s parent need only have a domestic partnership.
If you are looking for more information about adoption, please contact us here at Gulf Coast Adoptions. We’re available to help you 24/7 at 850-999-7977.