Stepdad Application

A petitioner may use the Petition/Termination of Parental Rights, PC-600, which specifies all the information that is required. If a parent consents to termination, the parent must complete an Affidavit/Consent to Termination of Parental Rights, JD-JM-60.

In order to prove abandonment, the abandoned spouse must use direct or constructive evidence to demonstrate their claim. The spouse claiming abandonment must prove that the couple kept separate residences and didn't engage in marital relations for a required period, usually a year.

Parents may voluntarily relinquish parental rights in California.The voluntary relinquishment of parental rights must be granted in a court order. An order will terminate rights such as inheritance, custody and visitation, child support, and any liability for the child's misconduct.

Another way to have a stepparent adoption without the consent of the other biological parent is if the parent has abandoned the child. For abandonment, the parent must have not paid child support or contacted the child for a certain period of time, usually a year.

The parent or parents have left the child and failed to provide identification for the child (An example of this is providing a birth certificate); The parent or parents have failed to provide support for the child for an extended period of time;

Child abandonment occurs when a parent, guardian, or person in charge of a child either deserts a child without any regard for the child's physical health, safety or welfare and with the intention of wholly abandoning the child, or in some instances, fails to provide necessary care for a child living under their roof.

Child abandonment occurs when a parent, guardian or other person in possession of a child either abandons a child without any regard for that child's physical safety, health or well being, or when the child is not receiving the necessary care for a healthy existence.

As such, the termination of parental rights is very rare. While you may feel that your deadbeat ex isn't worthy of the privilege of time with your child, the courts look on the matter differently, taking a child's needs and well-being into account over a parent's personal grievances.