Step Parent Adoption in San Bernardino County – How to Adopt a Stepchild

Step Parent Adoption in San Bernardino County - Adopting a Step child Step-by-Step

Below you will find answers to common questions about adopting a step child in San Bernardino County. There are a few initial requirements: you must live in the county; the step parent must be married to one of the child's parents (or be a registered domestic partner); and the child must be under the age of 18.

Most step parent adoptions are handled in the central Family Law courthouse

There are many Superior Court locations in San Bernardino County, but most step parent adoptions are handled in the County's central historic courthouse which has been designated to handle family law matters. It is located at 351 N. Arrowhead Avenue, San Bernardino.

Unique Aspects to doing a step parent adoption in San Bernardino County

San Bernardino County does several things differently than almost every county in California. Other counties typically assign one particular judge to handle adoptions. This allows the judge to gain expertise in adoption law. It also allows attorneys to learn how he or she likes things done, and how they typically analyze certain legal situations. San Bernardino once had just one designated adoption judge, but several years ago they decided to have all their family law judges hear adoption cases. When a new stepparent case is filed, any one of the judges might be assigned the case.

San Bernardino also differs in charging a fee for a court reporter at the final hearing. Although this is a small fee, other counties provide this service at no charge in adoption final hearings. Another negative is when the adoption is granted at the final hearing, other counties give the family free certified copies right in the courtroom, so they can walk out the door with them in hand, and with no wait. Virtually no judges in San Bernardino County elect to do this. Instead, the file is sent downstairs to the clerk's office. The adopting stepparent may then go and wait in line and request their certified copies, but for some reason few clerks are authorized to certify adoption documents. Although this is a routine procedure in every other county in the state, San Bernardino has elected to make it difficult for families. Often you, or your attorney, will be told no clerk is available who is authorized to certify adoption orders, and they will be mailed to you, or you have to return another day.

These inconsistencies with other counties are only a minor frustration, however. The legal processing of a step parent adoption remains the same as other counties. Let's review them below.

Required Documents to Get Started

Every case has a first step and it is usually gathering documents you will need. For a step parent adoption, you will be asked for a certified copy of the child's birth certificate and a certified copy of your marriage certificate. Or, if you instead have a registered domestic partnership, you will need a certified copy of the Declaration of Domestic Partnership. These documents are all obtained at different places.

Birth certificates are certified by California county of birth, or the main office of Vital Records in Sacramento. It can be done in person by a parent or with a notarized request by mail. Marriage certificates are only available at the County Recorder in the county of marriage. There is no state office. For a Declaration of Domestic Partnership, certified copies are obtained only thorough the California Secretary of State's office. Of course, if the birth or marriage was out of state, you'd obtain these documents there.

Don't think you can't start the process without these documents in hand. You can start the process, then order them. But if you have them in advance, it can save time in your stepparent adoption investigation. Let's talk about that next.

There is no step parent home study, but there is an investigation

Don't think that by using different names, "home study" versus "investigation" that only the name is different. Those terms actually indicate two completely different processes. The good news is that for a stepparent adoption, the required investigation is must shorter and simpler, and less expensive, than a home study.

Home studies are for traditional adoptions and involve home visits to the adoptive family and more scrutiny of the adopting parent. Because step parent adoptions involve existing families who want to make that already-formed family a legal reality, less is required. There are no required visits to your home to approve it. Instead, interviews are usually done in the office of the adoption agency. But which adoption agency and what do they do? Let's look at that next.

You Have a Choice Who Does Your Step Parent Investigation

This is an area that immediately tells you if the attorney you are considering knows much about adoption laws. For many years, the only authorized entity in San Bernardino County to do stepparent investigations was the San Bernardino County Department of Children and Family Services. They have dedicated personnel and there is nothing wrong with using that option. Their fee is capped by law at $700 to do your investigation. Just to see how low this fee is, if you were doing a traditional adoption, where the home study is done by the California Department of Social Services, the fee is set by law at $4,500. This tells you how much less is done in a stepparent investigation than a traditional adoption home study.

But the law was changed about ten years ago giving you an option. Now you can choose any licensed private adoption agency to do the investigation. And the great thing is that they are also limited to the same $700 fee. So it costs you nothing more. The difference is going from the public/government sector to the private sector. Anyone who has stood in line at a county office knows our government agencies are overburdened and often understaffed. Things almost always take longer and feel more bureaucratic. Using a private adoption agency is almost always a more "user friendly" option, and your stepparent investigation will be completed faster. Your attorney can recommend the agencies he or she is impressed with. If you are talking to an attorney who does not even know this option, find one that does. If they don't even know this basic law, think about how little they know about other aspects of stepparent adoption law.

What is Done in the Investigation

The principle parts of a step parent investigation is to interview the adopting stepparent, their spouse, and the child. Of course, the interview of the child will vary based on the child's age. If the child is older, the questions will be more detailed than of a very young child. Typically, these questions are kind and respectful, not overly intrusive. The social worker just wants to verify there is a safe environment and loving relationship.

The adopting parent will also be fingerprinted to do a criminal records check and that of the child abuse registry. A DMV records search is also done. There will be a questionnaire to complete about health history, finances and similar issues. There is no requirement to be rich, or never have had a problem in life. Some people have very modest incomes, or even a past arrest. These are not bars to completing a stepparent adoption. But if there was a past problem, whether it be criminal or of another nature, the social worker will want to make sure that problem no long exists and has been learned from.

The Time to Complete the Investigation Varies

Most private adoption agencies do everything very quickly and would have investigation done in weeks if not for the fact they have to wait for fingerprints to be processed. This is the slowing factor and what changes the time to complete the step parent investigation. Until recently, it was common for investigations to be done in under three months. Lately, due to slow fingerprinting processing, it is taking a couple additional months.

One thing you can do to speed up the investigation is to be prompt with providing the adoption agency what it needs. Surprisingly, one reason investigations are slowed is due to the family itself. Some are quite slow in getting required things done. So you have some control in how fast you want your investigation done.

The Role of the Attorney 

You might be wondering in you need an attorney to do a step parent adoption. The answer can be yes or no, depending on you. It's like putting on a new roof. Can you do it yourself and save some money? Maybe? But will it be done as well and as quickly compared to if you used a qualified professional? Remember, you are doing something to create your family. You want it done right. For a detailed review of how to select an attorney for your stepparent adoption, and the usual costs, you can access it here.

Let's look into the basic legalities of stepparent adoption..

The Legal Issues of Step Parent Adoption

The first thing people correctly think about is getting the consent of the absent parent (the parent being "replaced" by the adopting parent). In the vast majority of cases the absent parent is the birth father, so for purposes of simplicity, we will continue with the assumption the needed consent is from the birth father. (It is basically the same issue if the absent parent is the birth mother.)

If the birth father is willing to sign a consent, your attorney (or the adoption agency) will prepare the required Consent to Adoption. Some birth fathers are happy to consent, as they have been willingly absent from the child's life, and a benefit to him is adoption will end any future child support post-adoption. (It does not end the obligation for past-due support, however.) But some men, even if they have been absent for years and provided no support, refuse. Often this is just ego or stubbornness.

When a birth father refuses to consent, or can't be found, the legal process becomes much more technical and complicated. First there will be an analysis by your attorney if the birth father falls into the "alleged" or "presumed" category. This is based on factors such as if he was married to the mother or on the birth certificate and other factors. Presumed fathers have stronger rights than alleged and the court action required to terminate their rights is different. If you want to learn more about this subject you can read our Advanced Laws and Procedures page.

A court action must be brought against a non-consenting or unfindable birth parent, and even among attorneys who do adoptions, only a small number have much real experience in terminating parental rights. So it is advised you select an attorney with this experience. There are many strategic decisions to be made and the wrong one can have severe consequences. Of course, the best attorney is one who has the persuasive ability to convince a hesitant absent parent to cooperate, and avoid a trial. Sometimes this can happen, and sometimes not.

Beyond this main issue, the remainder of a step parent adoption is much more straightforward. There will be a Petition for Adoption (called the Adoption Request), required forms regarding any possible Native American Ancestry (required by the Indian Child Welfare Act), the Certificate of Assignment, the Adoption Agreement, Request to Set Hearing, VS-44 form (Court Report of Adoption - regarding the child's new birth certificate) and Order of Adoption. These are the minimal forms but sometimes others are needed.

There is an Adoption Final Hearing to Grant the Adoption

Adoptions are not just granted automatically when the court receives all the necessary papers. A hearing needs to be set and normally the adopting step parent, spouse and child are present. The hearing is sealed from the public but you can bring family and friends as guests. Since at this final hearing everything is done and there is no opposition (since you either have the absent parent's consent or their rights were terminated), it is normally a very friendly hearing and very celebratory. It usually only lasts about 15 minutes as all the work was done beforehand.

Can the Absent Parent Stay in Contact?

Every adoption is different. In some cases, all the parties are friendly and the absent parent is basically saying, "I know I'm not ready to be a parent and you will do a better job, so I'll step aside so you can legally be dad." Sometimes there might still be an existing relationship between the absent parent and the child and the parties want to keep that relationship alive. So they can all do as they wish. It need not be formal. But sometimes it is formally done, with a document called the Contact After Adoption Agreement. The vast majority of stepparent adoptions do not involve this, however.

You Can Change Your Child's Name as Part of the Adoption

A free benefit in doing a stepparent adoption is when you desire to change your child's name. This is often done when the adopting parent is the father and the family wants the child to have that last name, or a same-sex couple who may elect to hyphenate names. The reality is you can do whatever you want. The Adoption Order will set forth the child's new name, or say if he or she is keeping their name the same. If you are changing it, you can change any aspect of their name. Not just the last name, but also the first and middle.

You Will Receive a New Birth Certificate for Your Child

The existing birth certificate is sealed and a new one is created. The new (amended) birth certificate will not have the replaced parent listed. Instead, the adopting stepparent will be listed as parent, and their spouse will remain listed as parent. If you changed your child's name, that new name will be listed.

This new birth certificate takes about six months to be processed, but your adoption is final from the moment the judge signed the Adoption Order.

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We hope this information was helpful to you. To learn more about our Stepparent Adoption Center you are invited to check out our qualifications and experience, as well as learn about our transparent flat fee.