From Legal Guardian to Adoptive Dad California

[harshfamily]

My husband is the legal guardian of his ex's son. My husband has been his legal guardian for almost 3 years, but has been his full time dad for the child's entire life (12 years). Our original petition was for the both of us to be legal guardians, but I opted to remove myself from the petition if exchange for the mother's consent.

My husband is the only father the boy has ever known. His biological father is unknown and his birth certificate reflects that. She has no knowledge of who the father is. The story of his conseption has changed dozens of times in the 12 years her has been alive. She is so strung out, God only knows if she actually remembers.

How do we go about my husband adopting the child? In the past, his ex has said she would support my husband adopting him, so we dont anticipate an objection from her. We just don't know how to go about it. Its not stepparent adoption, so that doesnt work. Would it qualify as kinship adoption because he is the legal guardian?

I know she wouldn't give him up for me to adopt him, although that would be ideal. She currently has visitation allowances through the court, but she doesn't take it. She hasn't even seen him in 2 years even though we live in the same town.

Her parental rights aren't terminated under his guardianship, just suspended indefinitely. I wanted to avoid a lawyer, because they are expensive. We fought for guardianship againsnt her and her father and thier lawyers (and won) without a lawyer, my husband and I did all the work ourselves. I was hoping to do it the same way with this too.

[xena]

My husband is the legal guardian of his ex's son. My husband has been his legal guardian for almost 3 years, but has been his full time dad for the child's entire life (12 years). Our original petition was for the both of us to be legal guardians, but I opted to remove myself from the petition if exchange for the mother's consent.

My husband is the only father the boy has ever known. His biological father is unknown and his birth certificate reflects that. She has no knowledge of who the father is. The story of his conseption has changed dozens of times in the 12 years her has been alive. She is so strung out, God only knows if she actually remembers.

How do we go about my husband adopting the child? In the past, his ex has said she would support my husband adopting him, so we dont anticipate an objection from her. We just don't know how to go about it. Its not stepparent adoption, so that doesnt work. Would it qualify as kinship adoption because he is the legal guardian?

I know she wouldn't give him up for me to adopt him, although that would be ideal. She currently has visitation allowances through the court, but she doesn't take it. She hasn't even seen him in 2 years even though we live in the same town.

Her parental rights aren't terminated under his guardianship, just suspended indefinitely. I wanted to avoid a lawyer, because they are expensive. We fought for guardianship againsnt her and her father and thier lawyers (and won) without a lawyer, my husband and I did all the work ourselves. I was hoping to do it the same way with this too.

Adoption laws are VERY complex, and difficult to understand. Just 1 minor mistake can lead to huge problems that can pop up years later. So, hiring an attorney is really the best way to go, even though it can be expensive.

If you are determined to file pro-se, you'll need to study up on the adoption laws, and rules of court. You can usually Google those, or spend alot of time in your local law library.

Even when you file pro-se, you'll need to have the back-up of an attorney's advice. Do the studying, figure out what you need to do, write it all down and then get a consult with a local attorney to make sure that you are dotting every I and crossing every T, so to speak.

It is possible to do this pro-se, but it'll take alot of time and even more work. Hopefully, things will turn out alright in the end.