When you met the love of your life, his or her children may have made you feel a bit uncomfortable. After all, according to Psychology Today, your partner's children may view you as an interloper. They also may reject your blended family and dream of the day their...
If you are living with unofficial stepkids, you know how difficult the arrangement can be. After all, even though you act as a mother or father figure, the law does not recognize your relationship. This can make it challenging to work with school officials, doctors,...
The U.S. Supreme Court’s decision to legalize same-sex marriage in the country paved the way for partner adoptions. North Carolina responded with the Every Child Deserves a Family Act, prohibiting discrimination based on the prospective parents’ or child’s sexual...
While adopting stepkids can provide your stepchildren with a sense of stability, you also have to consider your biological children. Your kids may have different questions about the process and why you plan to adopt more children. When talking to your biological...
When you decide to step up and adopt your stepchildren, you typically have your kids' best interests in mind. According to WebMD, stepparents generally consider adoption after a long absence from the noncustodial parent. The absence causes enough emotional turmoil...
If you have a blended family, you may be thinking of turning your informal parent-child relationships into official ones. While there are many considerations to address when deciding whether to adopt your stepkids, doing so may be good for them. Stepparent adoptions...
If you are considering adopting your partner's child or you currently have custody of your child and want to learn more about stepparent adoption, it is vital to go over many different topics. In addition to having the consent of the noncustodial parent and even the...
Before you can adopt a child, termination of the biological parent's parental rights must take place. This means that the birth parents no longer have rights to the child that the law would otherwise confer on them automatically. In most adoption cases, biological...
The last few decades have seen an exponential rise in divorce rates across numerous age groups. This has led to increased instances of remarriage. These new marriages are often blended, bringing children from past relationships to the new one. Stepparents often opt to...
September 10, 2021 should go down as a watershed day for North Carolina foster parents for a number of reasons, all of them bound up in the passage of a new law https://www.ncleg.gov/Sessions/2021/Bills/House/PDF/H769v6.pdf which the NC General Assembly has boldly...
