How to Use This Book
Introduction
If you are a California stepmother, stepfather or domestic partner wondering what's involved in adopting the child of your spouse or partner, this book is designed for you.
Do Your Own California Adoption does all of the following:
- gives you the practical and legal information you need to decide whether to adopt the child
- tells you how to determine if adoption is legally possible in your situation
- guides you step by step through the adoption process so that you can act as your own lawyer
- alerts you to instances when you might need to consult with an attorney, and
- for those of you who decide to hire a lawyer, educates you about the process so that you can understand what your lawyer is, or should be, doing.
 If all you care about is the name. If you just want to change the child's last name, but do not want to become the child's legal parent, adoption is not necessary. Nolo has another how-to book for you: How to Change Your Name in California, by Lisa Sedano and Emily Doskow.
Although this book can help a lot of people, it can't help everyone. It cannot help you if:
- the absent parent or sperm donor won't consent to the adoption
- the individual whom you want to adopt is 18 years of age or older
- the individual whom you want to adopt is married
- you are either not married to or not in a registered California domestic partnership with the person whose child you want to adopt, or
- you are in a lesbian couple and you have conceived a child through ovum donation and in vitro fertilization.
| Children of Native American Heritage |
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If you suspect that the child you want to adopt is of Native American heritage, then you may have to give notice of the adoption to the appropriate tribe, under the Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA). (25 U.S.C. §§ 1901 and following.) This law seeks to foster and maintain the connection between Indian children and their tribal communities. Advice on how to comply with the ICWA is beyond the scope of this book. Although most of the information in this book will still be of assistance to you in your stepparent or domestic partner adoption, consult with an attorney for specific information on complying with the ICWA.
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If you are not married or in a domestic partnership, but you want to adopt the child of your nonmarital or domestic partner, you can adopt under "second parent adoption" procedures. These are different from stepparent adoption procedures, and you will need to consult an attorney if this is your situation. (See Chapter 9 for advice on finding an attorney.)
To use this book effectively, first read Chapters 1 and 2 to get an overview of the adoption process -- including the preliminary steps you will have to take, how to work with court clerks and social service agency personnel and how to request or prepare the documents you'll need. Then read Chapter 3 to find out which adoption procedure will work best in your situation. Once you've chosen a procedure, skip ahead to the chapter that explains that procedure:
- Chapter 4 covers adoptions in cases where the absent parent consents.
- Chapter 5 covers adoptions in cases where the absent parent has willfully failed to support and communicate with the child.
- Chapter 6 covers adoptions in cases where the absent parent has abandoned the child.
- Chapter 7 covers adoptions in cases where you are terminating the absent parent's rights.
- Chapter 8 contains information specifically for domestic partners, and Chapter 9 contains some hints about working with lawyers, if that becomes necessary.
 Beware of local rules and practices. Even though California adoption laws apply to all counties in the state, the actual practices and procedures you will have to follow may vary from county to county. Even within a particular county, the way adoptions are done often includes small variations from time to time and from official to official. This means that the instructions we give may not match exactly how things are done in your particular courthouse. The good news is that the variations, if any, will be minor. You should be able to adjust to them without difficulty. Most county workers will help you with local procedures.
| Welcome, Domestic Partners! |
Although this is the sixth edition of this book, it is the first to include information for domestic partners. In 2002, California officially changed its stepparent adoption procedures to include domestic partners. This new law, called AB 25, is a milestone in the long effort to provide legal protection for relationships between so-called second parents and their kids. Now, the second parent in a same-sex partnership can establish a legal parental relationship with the child, with a minimum of fuss, in any county in California. The procedures are simple and relatively inexpensive, but the security they provide -- allowing the child to receive benefits and inherit from the adopting parent; ensuring the parent will be able to authorize medical care, travel and educational opportunities; and guaranteeing that the child's relationship with the adopting parent cannot be severed in the event of a breakup between the parents -- is beyond measure. To learn more about the effort to add domestic partners to these adoption procedures, see Chapter 8. |
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Icons Used in This Book
Here is a list of the symbols you'll see throughout this book, and what they mean.
Provides tips or other pieces of insider information that will give you an edge when doing your own adoption.
Alerts you to potential pitfalls so that you can avoid trouble.
 Lets you know when you can skip a chapter or section and move forward to another part of the book.
 Tells you when you need to seek legal advice.
Glossary
To help you understand some of the words we use that are not common words or that have a special meaning in this context, there is a glossary of terms at the back of the book, just before the appendixes.
Forms Provided in this Book
Throughout the book, we discuss different forms that will be required for the adoption process. Often, we include samples in the text of the chapter where the form appears, and we also include a blank copy of the form that you can fill in on the CD-ROM that's at the back of the book.
For forms that you can use without a computer, by simply pulling them out of the book and photocopying them, we have also included Appendix 2. If a form is not included in Appendix 2, it's not one that you can pull out and copy, and you will need to use the CD-ROM instead.
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