There is no denying that grandparents tend to play an important role in the lives of their grandchildren, and while grandparents have no absolute rights to visitation in Texas, the state does support the important connection between grandchildren and their grandparents.
There are also instances when grandparents adopt their grandchildren, and a better understanding of the process can help you better understand your own chances of doing so. Turn to an experienced Round Rock adoption attorney for the skilled legal guidance you are looking for.
Grandparents Often Help Raise Their Grandchildren
The Pew Research Center shares several statistics that highlight how prevalent grandparent support is in relation to raising their grandchildren, including:
In a recent year, more than 70 percent of grandparents reported caring for their grandchildren at least some of the time.
In a recent year, more than 20 percent of grandparents reported caring for their grandchildren on a consistent basis.
The number of grandparents whose grandchildren live with them is on the rise throughout the nation.
Under highly specific circumstances, grandparents also go on to adopt their grandchildren.
If Your Grandchildren Already Live with You
If your grandchildren already live with you, such as if they’ve been placed with you by Child Protective Services (CPS) or if their parents left them with you, you’re able to provide them with the care, love, and guidance they need, but you likely don’t have the legal rights necessary to address every relevant concern.
For example, you may not be able to include them in your health insurance policy, and you likely can’t obtain their passports. By going through the grandparent adoption process, you establish full parental rights with no barriers – just like other parents have.
If your grandchildren’s parents agree with your desire to adopt, there is a serious process involved, but it is fairly straightforward. If, however, one or both of your grandchildren’s parents has not lost their parental rights and does not consent to the adoption, the path forward will be far more challenging.
Regardless of the situation, however, you shouldn’t wait to consult with a trusted adoption lawyer.
The Benefits of Grandparent Adoption
While you may have taken on the role of a parent in your grandchildren’s lives, you – as a grandparent – lack the legal recognition necessary to fully embrace the title. In fact, when it comes to grandparent adoption, there are several important benefits to consider.
Legal Rights and Recognition
By officially becoming your grandchildren’s parent, you ensure that you have the legal right to make decisions on their behalf and to parent them in the manner that best addresses their needs. This includes making primary decisions about all the following:
Their health care
Their schooling
Their religious upbringing
Their participation in extracurriculars and travel
While caring for your grandchildren on a full-time basis is rewarding, it doesn’t afford you the full parental rights that adoption does.
Financial Matters
Short of adopting your grandchildren, it can be difficult to obtain insurance coverage for them or to designate them as beneficiaries on your own accounts. Adoption also clarifies your grandchildren’s inheritance rights and, overall, makes it less challenging to address financial concerns regarding your grandchildren.
Emotional Stability
Not all of the benefits of adoption are legal or financial. In fact, the primary advantage may be the emotional stability that adoption affords you and your grandchildren.
Once you’ve adopted your grandchildren, there will no longer be any question about whether or not they can continue living with you, which can dispel a good deal of anxiety and uncertainty for everyone involved. Children crave stability and consistency, and adoption supports both.
The Adoption Process
There are several important steps involved in the adoption process for grandparents in Texas, and because each is a legally complex matter, working closely with a seasoned adoption attorney with a considerable amount of experience successfully handling these cases is always to your advantage.
The Termination of Parental Rights
Before any adoption can proceed, the rights of the children’s parents must be terminated. This is generally accomplished through an affidavit of relinquishment, and the requirements are exacting.
If their parents aren’t involved in your grandchildren’s lives and are willing to terminate their parental rights, this step shouldn’t be overly complicated, but often, even those parents who aren’t directly involved in their children’s lives are unwilling to relinquish their legal rights.
This tends to be the case when a grandparent’s efforts to adopt are based on their efforts to protect their grandchildren from their parent or parents.
The Home Study
Even if your grandchildren have been living with you happily for years, the Department of Family and Protective Services will need to conduct a home study before you can adopt. The study isn’t a test that is designed to trip you up but is, instead, a means of confirming that you’re able to provide your grandchildren with a safe, healthy, and stable home.
As such, the study will focus on all the following elements:
Documentation, including general, financial, and employment
An autobiographical statement written by you
Letters of reference
Health statements regarding your emotional fitness as a parent – as applicable
Clearances regarding state and federal crimes, sex offender registry, and child abuse and neglect for everyone living in your household
The overall safety of your home
The sanitary standards of your home
The degree to which your house is childproofed appropriately – in accordance with your grandchildren’s ages
The court is committed to gauging your readiness to adopt, your understanding of the immense responsibility involved, your obligations to the children you adopt, and your overall preparedness.
Your Grandchildren’s Consent
To adopt in the State of Texas, any children who are at least 12 years old must provide consent. The process involves the child signing a straightforward document that signifies acceptance of the adoption.
The Court Hearing
If you go into court well prepared – and with knowledgeable legal representation in your corner – both the termination of parental rights and your grandparent adoption may be accomplished at the same hearing.
This streamlining of the process can seriously diminish the stress involved. It’s important to know, however, that serious complications can also arise and that proceeding with caution is always advised.
If Your Grandchildren Are Orphaned
In some situations, children lose both parents, which can mean both parents tragically dying in the same accident, both parents dying in quick succession, or the death of the children’s only parent. In the estate planning process, many parents address the matter of their minor children’s guardianship, and grandparents are often named as the guardians of choice.
Even in these situations, however, the state needs to ensure that the grandparents in question are up to the task of providing for and raising children, which includes conducting a home study. When guardianship is made official, though, it can pave the way for a more streamlined grandparent adoption process.
FAQ
Consider the answers to the following questions about grandparent adoption in relation to your own situation.
Do grandparents have a better chance of adopting their grandchildren?
Texas courts recognize that a child’s relatives can play an important role in raising them, can provide stable and loving homes, and are often the best choice when it comes to adoption, but there are no guarantees – and grandparents should expect challenges ahead.
Grandparents must endure the same rigorous processes that other prospective adoptive parents do, and only if they meet the necessary standards is adoption possible.
Ultimately, the State of Texas is invested in the best interests of the involved children, and often, the close relationships that grandparents forge with their grandchildren and the love and care they consistently show them fit the bill.
What can I expect at the home study?
The professional conducting your home study will be interested in establishing that your home fits the state’s safety requirements for children and that you pass all the necessary background clearances, but thats not the end. They’ll also interview you to help ensure that you’re able to adequately care for your grandchildren, provide for them, and keep up with their needs.
As such, you can expect to be asked questions that explore subjects like the following:
Why you’re interested in adopting your grandchildren – if you’ve been raising them for a while or if they no longer have parents, this part is fairly straightforward, but under different circumstances, it can be more challenging
Your age and overall health status
The strength of your marriage – if you’re married
The strength of your family relationships
Your feelings about your own parents and your own childhood, including any history of neglect or abuse
Your thoughts on disciplining children
The interviewer will also be interested in exploring your history and interests, your lifestyle, your level of experience as a childcare provider, your ability to handle your grandchildren’s needs, and beyond. You can help yourself by relaxing and answering each question honestly.
The state isn’t interested in thwarting your desire to adopt your grandchildren. Instead, they simply want to make sure you’re capable of taking on the immense responsibility and that your authentic responses will serve you well.
Further, your practiced adoption attorney will help you prepare for your home study by getting you up to speed on what it’s all about and bolstering your confidence in the process.
Do I really need an attorney?
Even if your grandchildren have been living with you for some time and if both parents are in agreement about relinquishing their rights, you should know that adoption is a complicated legal matter that can become more so at any turn. If you are set on adopting your grandchildren, you owe it to yourself – and to them – to proceed with a formidable adoption lawyer on your side.
How long does the adoption process take?
Every adoption in Texas follows its own timeline, which makes it difficult to estimate how long your grandparent adoption will take. If your grandchildren’s parents have already relinquished their rights, you can expect the adoption process to be less time-consuming, and if your grandchildren are already living with you, it can also expedite things somewhat.
If you’re heading into a grandparent adoption, however, it’s important to be ready for anything. Complications often arise, and if they do in your case, your accomplished adoption lawyer will be well prepared to help you ably address and overcome them.
My grandchildren already live with me. What are the advantages of adoption?
If your grandchildren live with you, you have almost certainly taken on a parental role and are shouldering the responsibilities of parenthood. You don’t, however, have the same legal rights as a parent does. This means that if circumstances change, such as if one of their parents intervenes, you could lose custody of your grandchildren.
By adopting your grandchildren, you ensure your ongoing parental rights, which takes the question mark out of things and can provide you and your grandchildren with the emotional stability you’re looking for.
As your grandchildren’s adoptive parent, you can make every primary decision on their behalf, you lock in their rights to inheritance as your children, you can name them as financial beneficiaries, and you can include them on your insurance policies. There are a wide range of benefits associated with adopting your grandchildren.
Consult with an Experienced Round Rock Adoption Attorney Today
Brett Pritchard at The Law Office of Brett H. Pritchard is a compassionate Round Rock adoption lawyer who understands the pull grandparents experience in relation to their grandchildren’s happiness and well-being, including the desire to adopt when circumstances call for it.
Mr. Pritchard has a wealth of experience helping grandparents secure parental rights through adoption, and he’s here for you, too. For more information about what our focused legal team can do for you, please don’t wait to reach out and contact or call us at 254-781-4222 to schedule your free consultation today.